


A Cop's Worst Nightmare

by Traw



Category: The Streets of San Francisco
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mike in full protection mode, Non-Consensual Drug Use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 29,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26080306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Traw/pseuds/Traw
Summary: Drugged, hallucinating and armed with a gun - a cop's nightmare scenario becomes Mike Stone's worst nightmare when the suspect is his own partner.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

"I can't believe Mike gave you the night off." Andrew grinned as he headed for the open door of the small cabin that sat hidden by trees on the bay's shore. "I thought for sure he would change his mind, especially now the two of you are working the Dodson case."

"Mike's cool, he understands that there's more to life than the job, it's just that sometimes we just get caught up in a case." Steve chuckled, glancing at his friend distractedly before he turned towards the two young women who emerged from the house, their arms folded in front of them. "Oh no, looks like the girls are upset that we got here late." he muttered softly to his friend before he smiled innocently and lightly kissed his annoyed date on the lips, "Sorry I'm late, I got caught up with a case."

"You always getting caught up with a case, Steve!" Julie lightly scolded the young homicide inspector as she accepted the apology, "But at least this time you didn't forget we had a date and left me waiting for you to pick me up but you do owe me a dance, Steve!" She teased him as she slipped her hand into his and led him inside the noisy and crowded house.

"And don't think you are getting away with being late either, Andrew Martin!" Sally Graham warned her date as she reached for Andrew's hand. "I believe you owe me a dance or two as well for your punishment!" She giggled as he protested his innocence, blaming Steve for their late arrival as she pulled him inside after the other young couple.

OoOoOoO

"Steve, you owe me an apology dance for being late! And I want my apology now!" Julie pouted playfully, grabbing his hand as she pulled him away from the small group of friends he was talking to as a romantic song began to play softly. Taking the bottle of beer from Steve's hand, she placed it down on the table next to her own drink before tugging him towards the other dancers in the middle of the room.

Steve laughed as he allowed himself to be pulled towards the dance floor by the auburn-haired young woman.

With her hands on her hips, Sally watched them go before she spun around and grabbed her date's arm, dragging him in the direction of the dance floor. "Don't think I have forgotten that you owe me a dance as well, Andrew!" she warned, ignoring the protesting groans of her date.

Edging towards the unattended drinks that had been left sitting on the table, Shawn Talonine glanced around to reassure himself that nobody was watching them. "Let's get this party rocking!" he grinned at his dark haired companion as he pulled a bottle of pills from his pocket and popped the top before he poured several tablets from the bottle into his hand and dropped three of them into each drink.

Tony Hooper frowned as he watched the tablets dissolve, "Are you sure that's enough?"

"Hey, ya right!" the young man laughed as he dropped a few more tablets into the unfinished bottle of beer and the almost full glass of bourbon and coke sitting beside it. "We want them to have a real fun time tonight!" he whispered as he moved across to another table and several more unattended drinks, giggling drunkenly as he added tablets into the drinks and moved away to watch the fun unfold.

OoOoOoO

Holding the nearly empty bottle of beer in his hand, Steve blinked and shook his head; unsure if what he was seeing was real or imagined. The room that had moments before had been crowded with his friends was now full of strange looking monsters who were whispering to each other as they watched his every move. He jumped and brushed away one of the terrifying creature's skeletal claws as it grabbed his arm.

"Steve, what's wrong?" Julie asked in confusion as Steve roughly pushed her arm away.

"You okay, Steve?" The large monster standing beside him asked softly as it grabbed his arm before it shimmered and slowly morphed to look like Andrew. "You don't look too good!"

Swallowing hard, the young inspector nodded as he found himself looking into the concerned face of his friend. "Yeah…yeah…I'm fine." He answered slowly as he slowly looked around at the familiar faces of his friends and not the eerie figures that had surrounded him only moments before, "It's just getting a bit hot in here…I…I think I might go outside and get some fresh air…" Steve muttered quickly as he pulled free of Andrew's light grip. He swallowed hard and placed the bottle onto the small table in his haste to escape as Andrew began to shimmer and morph back into the terrifying creature that had been watching him closely a few moments before.

Andrew frowned as Steve suddenly pulled away and stumbled towards the door, pushing roughly through the crowd in his haste to go outside. Concerned by his friend's strange behavior, Andrew took a few steps to follow but any thoughts of catching up with his friend to check if he was really okay were quickly forgotten as he heard the distinct sound of smashing glass and a terrified scream as a fight erupted. Turning towards the commotion, Andrew pushed through the panicking crowd that was surging back from the fighting party goers.

As he got closer, he could see several of his friends attempting to surround an extremely agitated young man who held a woman tightly against his chest as she begged to be let go. The disturbed man ignored her tearful pleas as he screamed hysterically that he was not going to let the devils get him without a fight, slashing at anyone who tried to get too close with a broken glass bottle he held in his bleeding hand.

OoOoOoO

"I have to get out of here. I have to get out of here. I have to get out of here." The soft persistent mantra repeated itself over and over inside his head as Steve pushed through the sea of strange beasts who now swarmed around him, reaching for him, calling out his name and telling him to stay and party as he tried desperately to reach the open back door of the small shack and to the safety of the shore line beyond. He ignored all entreaties to stay as he pushed through the crowd and stumbled out the door into the cool night air beyond.

Tommy Wellings smiled as he saw Steve emerge from the cabin. He had met the young inspector when Steve had first joined the department after getting out of the academy. He had been Steve's first partner and the two of them had quickly become close friends, regularly hiking or skiing together or going out for the occasional after work drinks although during the last year after Steve had made Inspector, he seemed to have less and less time to socialise.

The dark-haired patrol officer's smile spread into a grin as he called out Steve's name and stepped towards him. The grin quickly faded as he saw Steve turn towards him. Something was seriously amiss. Steve was pale and looked unwell, sweat beaded on his face and he swayed unsteadily on his feet as he murmured softly to himself. The young inspector fearfully looked around him, almost as if he was expecting something to jump out from the shadows at him. "Hey Steve, are you okay?" Tommy asked in concern at his friend's strange behavior as he took a step closer.

Concern turned to shock as Steve suddenly lurched forward and pulled his small off- duty piece from beneath his shirt and pointed it directly towards him.

"Stay away from me! Leave me alone!" the younger man slurred as he jabbed the gun towards him, "Stay away!"

"Hey Steve, chill man, it's me, Tommy." Tommy gasped as he stepped back and raised his hands, uncertain of what was causing the strange behavior. "Steve, it's okay. Nobody is going to hurt you, so how about putting the gun away."

"Just stay away!" Steve slurred again as he stumbled past the shocked man, his guns shook unsteadily in his hand as he aimed directly at his friend's chest. "I have to get out of here! Can't you see them?" He asked as he staggered backwards, his eyes darting fearfully around.

"See who?" Tommy asked, glancing around in confusion before returning his attention back to his obviously ill, frightened and armed friend.

"They're all around!" Steve answered cryptically as he continued to back fearfully away. "I have to get out of here…" he slurred before he turned and fled into the darkness.

Tommy watched in confused shock as Steve disappeared into the shadows, momentarily uncertain if he should follow or summon help. A terrified scream from within the house caught his attention and he ran inside as many party guests ran out; all thoughts of his friend pushed aside momentarily.


	2. Chapter 2

Reaching the edge of the fracas, Andrew waved the others back as he paused just out of the deadly reach of agitated man. "Easy, Man, easy!" Andrew began softly, holding his hands up in an attempt to show that he wasn't a threat. "No one here wants to hurt you, so why don't you let the girl go."

"I can't…I can't…" Jordon whispered as his eyes darted fearfully over the semi-circle of men surrounding him before settling back on Andrew. He lowered his voice and whispered almost inaudibly, "Don't you see them? They're everywhere… I have to protect her…"

"See who?" Andrew asked gently as he edged a little closer, noting the man's terrified wide eyes and the pinpoint pupils. He was under the influence of drugs. Andrew swallowed hard and took a deep breath, aware that anyone as high on drugs as this man was could be extremely dangerous and unpredictable. If he wasn't careful this situation could easily spin into tragedy.

"The demons!" The agitated man gasped as he again nervously glanced around the room, his rising fear evident in his face. "They have come to claim our souls. They won't rest until the kill us!" Suddenly the fear left the young man's face and was replaced by a look of resolve as his grip around the frightened woman tightened, "But I won't let them take us, I'll kill 'em first!"

"Hey, it's okay," Andrew soothed as he took another slow step forward, "I promise I'm won't let any demons get you! Please, just let the girl go and give me the glass."

The terrified man shook his head, stabbing the glass wildly in the air as he began to scream hysterically, "You don't understand, you can't stop them! No one can stop…no one…" The young man suddenly gasped and his legs began to buckle. The glass slipped from his fingers as he released his terrified hostage before he silently tumbled to the floor.

Quickly stepping forward, Andrew gently, but firmly, moved the petrified woman away from her downed captor and out of any danger as he kicked the broken glass out of the man's reach. Dropping to his knees, he gently palpated the side of the young man's throat desperately searching for a pulse. He released a breath that he hadn't even realized that he was holding as he felt the soft, rapid throb beneath his fingertips. Looking up at the sea of scared faces that surrounded him he called, "Someone ring for an ambulance!" before he returned his attention back to the unconscious man on the floor.

From somewhere behind him he heard another terrified shout and turned around to find himself staring at Julie who was crouched in the corner, pointing up at the ceiling at something only she could see. Several friends quickly crowded around her, trying to reassure her that there was nothing there as she huddled on the floor, begging everyone to make the spiders go away. A soft moan from the man on the floor pulled Andrew 's attention away from the frightened woman as the young man on the ground began to moan softly. "Easy man, take it easy. No one's going to hurt you." Andrew murmured as Jordon began to struggle weakly beneath his hands.

Tommy paused as he reached the living room. The room was a scene of confusion; Andrew and several other friends were kneeling around Jordon on the floor, in a corner Julie was huddled on the floor, obviously hallucinating as she whimpered pitifully about the something wanting to bite her.

"What's going on?" he asked as he grabbed the closest party goer's arm.

Robert shrugged in confusion, glancing around at dramas that surrounded them, "I don't know, one minute everyone was partying, having a great time… the next…"

Tommy nodded as his grip tightened a little more around the bewildered man's arm, ensuring he had Robert's full attention. "Ring for some ambulances, also ring SFPD. Tell them we need some officers here fast and that they better contact Lieutenant Stone as well."

The off-duty officer nodded before he hesitated and looked questioningly at his colleague, "You sure you want Stone involved, Sarge?" He asked quietly before he looked around at the other party goers. Most of the party guests were university students or young businessmen, some were free spirited individuals who most people would simply call hippies but many of the other party guests were SFPD officers as well as Stone's own partner, Steve Keller.

Tommy nodded as he pushed the younger man towards the phone. "Stone is going to want to be involved from the start." he answered softly. "After all, Steve's his partner, and if there are any drugs involved…"

Swallowing nervously, Robert nodded in silent agreement as he turned and headed towards the phone. He wasn't quite sure what was happening but the thought that someone had brought drugs along to his party both scared and angered him.

"Ambulance is on its way, Andrew." Tommy said softly as he hurried across and knelt beside his colleague. "What do you think - could they be drugged?"

Andrew nodded as the man on the ground continued to toss restlessly and muttered something about ghosts and monsters trying to get them. "I think someone has been spiking drinks."

"Yeah… that could explain what's happening…" Tommy agreed before he added more softly, "I'll stay here with Jordon, but I think you need to find Steve and check if he's okay."

"Why?" Andrew asked cautiously. A small ripple of fear traveled through his soul as he remembered the strange way Steve was acting before he went outside.

"He seemed upset and agitated when I saw him outside. He seemed to be talking to himself- like he was hallucinating or something- just like Julie and Jordon are. When I asked him what was wrong, he pulled his second piece and pointed it at me."

Glancing first at the semi-conscious man in front of him before casting a quick glance at the hysterical young woman who cringed away from spiders that only she could see, Andrew whispered "Shit!" The mere thought of his colleague and friend armed and hallucinating was horrifying as he looked back at the shaken man beside him.

"He told me to leave him alone, so I backed off... I wasn't going to argue with him… I'm sure as hell not crazy. I mean it might have been Steve, but he had a gun and…and I didn't want to agitate him anymore than he was…" The off-duty SFPD officer's words trailed away, embarrassed at admitting his fear.

Andrew nodded in understanding as he rose to his feet. "Did you see which way he went after you left him?"

Tommy nodded, "He was headed south, along the shoreline."

"I'm going to see if I can find him." Andrew said softly as he rose to his feet, "You better contact Stone and SFPD. Try and keep everyone inside."

"Already have, they're on their way." Tommy answered as he watched Andrew turn and head towards the door, "Just be careful Sarge, I know it’s Steve but…if he's been slipped something…he might not be thinking clearly…"

"I know." Andrew replied before he disappeared out through the door.

Tommy's attention was pulled away from the now empty doorway as he heard a distressed scream for help for somebody who had suddenly collapsed and stopped breathing.

"God help us!" Tommy whispered as more shouts for help echoed around the room.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Stumbling away from the bright lights and the strange terrifying creatures who had once been his friends, Steve fell and forced himself back onto his feet several times as he tried to reach the security of the darkness, his small .22 still clutched tightly in his hand. He knew instinctively that the only way he was going to survive tonight was to hide from the strange monsters that he was certain were searching for him right now.

A small voice inside his head whispered that something was seriously amiss- that his thinking was not right - there were no such things as monsters. He paused a moment, swaying unsteadily, wondering fleetingly if that small voice was telling him the truth.

The sound of someone calling his name startled him. Turning quickly back towards the way he had just come from he saw a dark shape emerge from the bright lights of the house and began to walk slowly along the water's edge towards him. He turned and began to run towards the thick tree line, his heart beating fast with fear as he scrambled to find a safe place to hide.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Pausing outside the door, Andrew carefully scanned the edge of the bay, searching for any sign of his sick missing friend. Tommy had said that Steve had headed south along the bay's shore. Turning and walking in that direction, Andrew began to search the deserted banks of the bay as he called, "Steve! Steve! Answer me."

The sound of approaching sirens caught Andrew 's attention and he hesitated, glancing back towards the well-lit house. Returning his attention back towards the dark shapes of the trees that lined the edge of the bay's shoreline, he sighed, aware that without help his chances of finding Steve in the dark were extremely slim. Reluctantly he turned and slowly walked back to the house he knew was now a crime scene.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Burying himself a little deeper into the cool undergrowth, the homicide inspector held his breath and tightened his finger infinitesimally on the trigger as he aimed his gun at the large monster as it stopped just yards away from where he was hiding and looked around, seeking him out as it called his name. Loud wailing sounds and flashing lights from the direction of the house caught the creature's attention and Steve almost groaned aloud with relief as the creature suddenly turned and walked away.

Dropping his head onto his arm, Steve closed his eyes and swallowed hard as a wave of nausea and dizziness washed over him. He remained motionless for several minutes as the soft breeze cooled his hot skin. Finally, he forced himself to open his eyes and lifted his head as he carefully looked around. Reassuring himself that the creature had left, and he was alone, he climbed unsteadily to his feet and stumbled away.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Leaning closer to the police scanner, Wes Donnelly placed his tepid cup of coffee onto his kitchen table as he grabbed the open notebook and a pen before concentrating on the chatter. Something big was going down. The reporter's excitement rose as the dispatcher announced that a homicide inspector and several SFPD officers were involved in the incident before requesting Stone to attend the scene. Turning up the volume, the small grey-haired man held his breath as he listened to the urgent request for ambulances to attend the incident.

Jotting down the address, the reporter rose from his seat and grabbed his car keys as he headed towards the door, confident that this time he would get the scope of whatever was going down.


	3. Chapter 3

The large Ford Galaxie 500 pulled up behind the police cars and the ambulances parked haphazardly outside the small cabin and came to a stop a moment before its door opened and Mike Stone quickly climbed out. Placing his well-worn fedora on his head, he hurried towards the well-lit shack, stepping around the party-goers and the SFPD officers taking statements from them. Entering the small living room, he saw one of the men whom he wanted to speak to. Andrew was standing across the room issuing some type of instructions to a small group of officers crowded around him.

Looking up, Andrew noticed Mike's arrival and after giving a few more soft-spoken orders to the small group of off-duty and uniformed officers surrounding him, the San Francisco police sergeant quickly crossed the room to where the homicide lieutenant was waiting.

"What's happening, Andrew?" Mike asked as he glanced around the crowded room, surprised not to see Steve in the room. The urgent behest from SFPD dispatcher that he attends the scene had not been highly informative. The only information initial information that the dispatcher had been given was that there had been an incident at this scene and several SFPD officers, including Steve, were involved. Dispatch also informed him that the caller had requested that he also attend the incident. Ambulances had also been requested. Radio updates he had received on drive to the small remote bay house indicated several people had possibly suffered overdoses at the scene and one had died.

"Big trouble, Mike." The younger man answered as he looked around and shook his head in disbelief. "We think someone thought it would be a funny joke to spike people's drinks. Not sure what drug was used except that whatever it was, it's deadly and causes hallucinations. So far, five people have been affected, one of them died before the ambulance arrived."

"My God!" Mike murmured as they stepped out of the way of the egress of a victim strapped onto a stretcher. The young women pulled and tugged against the straps that secured her to the stretcher, crying out in fear as the ambulance attendants tried to calm her.

"That's Julie." Andrew said softly as he turned and watched the attendants roll the stretcher out of the front door. Looking back at Mike, he added softly, "Steve's date."

"Steve's date?" Mike frowned as he glanced around the scene again, looking for his young partner again but not seeing him amongst the young crowd. Turning back to Andrew, his frown deepened with confusion, "Where is Steve?" There was a heartbeat of silence that caused his chest to tighten in fear as he turned back to SFPD sergeant and asked again. "Andrew, where's Steve?"

"I don't know Mike. I have just sent the guys out to search for him now."

"Search for him... Was Steve…?" Mike asked hesitantly, fearing the answer he knew he was about to receive.

"We think so." Andrew answered softly. "He said he wasn't feeling well a few minutes after finishing a drink that he had left when he danced with Julie. He went outside and I was going to follow him to make sure he was okay, but all hell broke loose in here. Tommy Wellings saw Steve outside. Tommy said Steve looked ill and when he asked him if he was alright, Steve become quite agitated." Andrew hesitated and Mike felt a cold chill ripple through his soul as Andrew swallowed hard before continuing, "He pulled his gun on Tommy, Mike; he wouldn't let Tommy near him, kept muttering that he had to get away from someone. There was nothing Tommy could do to stop Steve from leaving."

Mike paled at the thought of his young partner and closest friend hallucinating and armed with a gun, wandering around in the darkness. It was a cop's nightmare to have to deal with someone high on drugs, a cop's worst nightmare when that drug affected person was armed with a gun.

"Did Tommy see which way he went?"

"Tommy said he headed south – along the shoreline. I tried to find him... But he was gone; I should have known something was wrong when Steve started acting strange inside." Andrew shook his head guiltily as he continued, "Some of the guys are searching for him now. I have warned them that he may be hallucinating and that he is armed and possibly dangerous. I told them if they find him not to approach but to keep him in sight and contact us."

Seeing the fear in Andrew 's eyes, Mike reached up and gently squeezed the larger man's shoulder. "You did the right thing,” He tried to reassure the upset man. Andrew nodded unconvinced as Mike added, "You know most of the people here. Anyone you suspect would try something as stupid as this?"

Andrew looked around and shrugged. "Nobody that I can think of but there a few people here that I don't recognize."

"Ask around. See if anyone saw anything suspicious." Mike ordered gently.

"But Mike…" Andrew began to protest as he realized that he was being sidelined from helping to search for Steve but any objection was silenced when Mike reminded him.

"Look, I know you want to join in the search for Steve, Andrew, but we both know you can’t. You're off duty and you’ve been drinking.".

"Only a couple of beers!" Andrew retorted.

"Enough for the press to have a field day if they get wind of this. I know you want to be involved with the search for Steve but the best way you can help now is to help find out who is responsible." Mike said before adding, gently, "I promise, we’re going to find him.”

Andrew nodded unhappily and walked away to talk to a small group of bewildered guests who were milling around the small coffee table.

"Mike!"

Mike turned in surprise as Bill Tanner hurried across the room towards him.

"I heard the call over the radio for assistance and ambulances at this address. I knew Steve and some of the other guys were attending a party here, so I responded as fast as I could." Bill said as he joined Mike and looked around. "What's going on?"

"Looks like someone decided it would be funny to slip some type of drug into people's drinks. So far five people have been affected, one has died, three are being transported to the General and one is missing." Mike shook his head as his eyes wandered over the scene in front of him before he returned his attention back to Bill and added quietly, “Steve’s our missing vic.”

"Steve?" Bill gasped, looking back at Mike, seeing the fear and worry in the older man's eyes.

Mike nodded, "He’s drugged and hallucinating … and he's armed, so we need to find him fast. I need you to go to the hospital, Bill and find out from the docs just what drugs we are dealing with and what effects they have on the victims.”

"Okay, Mike!" Bill answered as he headed towards the door. Pausing as he reached it, he turned and looked back at his lieutenant, "What about Captain Olsen, want me to let him know what's going on?"

"No, I will let Rudy know," Mike answered, "And Bill, when you get the information, use Channel 2 - we don't want the media to get wind of what's happening! If you need to contact me, I will be with the search party."

Bill nodded, not surprised that Mike had decided to lead the search party for his partner and closest friend.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Standing on the bank behind the house, Mike Stone accepted the flashlight offered to him by one of the SFPD officers who had hurried across to join the small group of officers gathered around him. He waited a moment to ensure he had their full attention before he spoke. "We know that Inspector Keller had some type of drug slipped into his drink and he may be hallucinating. We need to find him and find him fast. He is armed and possibly dangerous. If you do find him, I do not want you to approach him, keep him in sight and let me know immediately." Mike paused for a heartbeat before he added more softly, "I know that most of you are friends with Steve Keller but please remember Steve is under the influence of drugs and his behavior may be unpredictable. He has already pulled his gun on one officer and if he panics, he may not hesitate on pulling the gun again and using it." Mike swallowed hard as he glanced towards the darkened shore, aware that the next words from his mouth might ultimately be responsible for the death of his closest friend. Looking back at the faces of the young officers who surrounded him, he ordered. "If he does threaten you with the gun and you feel your life is in imminent danger, then, and only then, you are permitted to shoot in self-defense."

The officers nodded their heads solemnly; no one wanted to be the one forced to shoot the young homicide inspector but each man was aware that there was a possibility that they might not have a choice. All were acutely aware of the danger they faced when dealing with an armed man high on drugs, even if that man was one of their own.

"Pete, I want you to take a couple of men and start searching the water line." Mike ordered as he switched on his flashlight, "And we will start to search the banks and the underbrush. Remember if you find him, don't approach. Keep him under surveillance."

"Will do, Mike." The SFPD sergeant waved his acknowledgement as he turned and ordered, "John, Ray, Paul, you're with me."

"And Pete..."

The officer paused and turned back towards Mike, "Yeah, Mike?"

"Be careful." Stone answered softly, "I know it's Steve, but he doesn't know that it's us. I want everyone to stay safe."

Nodding silently, Pete led his small team away.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

He felt hot! So hot that he wouldn't be surprised if he was on fire. Grabbing the front of his shirt Steve pulled it open, popping several of the buttons from the material as he struggled desperately to free himself from the clinging, sweat soaked material, all the while holding the loaded gun tightly in his hand, unwilling to let it out of his grasp even for a second. Behind him he could hear the faint call of his name and when he glanced over his shoulder, he could see the dim strobes of light from searching torches in the direction from which he had just fled. They were looking for him. Tugging the shirt free over his fist around the gun, he allowed the material to fall to the ground as he turned and stumbled further along the edge of the water. He couldn't let them find him! He had to get away… had to hide… before the creatures saw him.

He stumbled on the loose soil, falling to his hands and knees as the sound of a boat's horn sounded across the bay, hurting his ears. He stared in horror as his hands disappeared. The damp ground suddenly became a living creature and tried to drag him down beneath its grainy surface. Crying out in fear, he pulled his hands and the gun free before he pushed himself to his feet and ran, ignoring the damp soil's gritty fingers as it tried to grab his shoes and trip him again. The ground was trying to slow him down enough so that the creatures could catch him, trying to prevent him from reaching the comforting safety of the darkness beyond, away from the piercing beams of the torch lights which stabbed through the darkness.

"Steve! …Steve, where are you? Answer me, Steve!" The familiar, comforting voice floated from somewhere in the darkness behind him and he hesitated a moment, uncertain if the voice was real or not.

_'Run, don't stop! It's a trick!'_ A small voice screamed in his head, _'They want you to think it's Mike but it's not! If they catch you, they are going to kill you. So, run! Run! RUN!'_

"Steve! …Steve, where are you? ...It's me, Mike…Answer me!"

Glancing over his shoulder, Steve was shocked at how close the lights from the flashlights now were. In a few more minutes, they would see him.

_'It's a trick! Run!'_ The voice in his head screamed again, _'Run or you're a dead man!'_

Turning back towards the darkness, Steve ran as fast as he could as the ground reached up and tried to grab his feet, tripping him several times as it tried to prevent him from reaching safety.


	4. Chapter 4

"The only guys I didn't know were the two guys who were making pests of themselves. You know the type I mean…" Cheryl shrugged and blushed as she glanced at her boyfriend, "Thinking that they are God's gift to women and trying to flirt with anyone in a skirt and then getting insulted when they are given the brush off."

"Can you describe them for me?" Andrew asked, silently wished he was outside searching for Steve rather than inside the small house interviewing his friends, as the lab boys and the police photographer moved around them collecting evidence.

The pretty young blond woman nodded, "Yeah, they aren't hard to forget. With their wandering hands, I was wondering why they were even invited to the party." She blushed again as she quickly turned back to her boyfriend and reassured him, "Not that they tried anything with me, but I saw them annoying a few of the other girls." Turning back to Andrew, she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before she continued, "One was a small kid, real, real skinny. I think he was about 19 maybe 20 ... 5'6 to 5'7. He was wearing dark jeans and a red shirt." She giggled before adding, "He had it unbuttoned, down to his waist, I remember thinking that maybe he thought he was sexy showing his skeleton ribs."

Andrew nodded as he jogged down the description before he glanced up and asked, "What about the other one?"

Cheryl bit her bottom lip in concentration before she answered slowly, "I think he had blond hair, and was a little taller and heavier. He looked like a student but I haven't seen him around before! He was wearing a green shirt and jeans."

"Can you remember anything else about him?" Andrew urged, unable to remember seeing either of the men whom Cheryl was describing.

Looking down at her feet, the young woman thought for a moment before she lifted her head and grinned, "Yeah…" she laughed excitedly, "Yeah…I remember I heard the skinny kid call the other one Shawn!"

"Andrew, Inspector Tanner's on the radio. He says he needs to speak to Lieutenant Stone urgently, but he can't raise him on the radio." One of the officers called as he stepped inside the small living room.

Turning towards officer, Andrew nodded before he turned and called another officer over and ordering. "George, I want you to get a full description of both these guys from Cheryl and get an APB out on them. Mike's going to want to talk to them."

George nodded as Andrew turned and followed the young officer out of the house.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Donnelly smiled as his search through the police channels was finally rewarded as he heard Inspector Tanner request to speak to either to Stone or Martin urgently. "Bingo!" He grinned triumphantly as he quickly glanced back down at the scanner and turned up the volume to eavesdrop on the private conversation between the two officers as he sped towards the house.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Andrew reached through the open door of the SFPD squad car and snagged the mic, bringing it to his mouth as he depressed the button and answered, "Bill, it's Andrew Martin, what have you got?"

"Andrew, the doctor says we need to find Steve fast. He believes that Steve may have consumed a lethal dose of the drug para-methoxyamphetamine." Andrew frowned before his face paled as he recognized the name of the drug. Only on the streets for a few short months, the drug had come to earn the street name of 'Death' and 'Dr Death' because of the high number of fatal overdoses the potent drug had caused. Most officers had been unlucky enough to encounter at least one victim of this drug since it had become the new fad among drug users, and the resulting encounters were something the officers never forgot. Attempts to calm the drugged suspects often ended up with both the officer and the drug addict requiring medical attention for injuries from the encounter. Even more frightening was trying to assist the young people who overdosed on this drug; the violent convulsions they endured was terrifying to see but not nearly as frightening as the high fevers that literally cooked the user from the inside out.

"Para-methoxyamphetamine?" He whispered into the mic as he glanced around to ensure nobody could overhear the conversation, "Damn, is the doctor sure?"

"Positive. He has just received the results of the tox screens taken from the other three victims when they were admitted to the E.R." Bill answered quietly before he added, "If Steve has ingested PMA then Mike could have real problems on his hands. The doctor has warned me that if Steve is hallucinating, he might not even know who Mike is. Combine that with the intense paranoid effects of the drug and the fact Steve's armed..." Bill sighed, aware that he didn't need to tell Andrew about the dangers they faced. "But that's not all... Mike needs to find Steve fast, if he has been overdosed like the other three victims... the doctor has the ER on standby."

"I'll let Mike know…" Andrew answered slowly, before he asked, "How's Julie doing?" His chest tightened with dread as the radio fell silent.

"Bill?"

"She passed away a few minutes after reaching the hospital. There was nothing they could do to save her." Bill answered gently.

The young sergeant swallowed hard as he blinked away the tears that suddenly threatened to fall. He had grown quite fond of the fun-loving girl who had won his friend's heart. "What about Jordon?"

"He and the other victim have both just been transferred to Intensive Care. Their conditions are critical. I'm sorry Andrew," Bill said softly, "I know the three of them are good friends."

"Yeah!" Andrew breathed into the mic as he turned and stared towards the house before he added almost as an afterthought. "We will let you know as soon as we find Steve." The sergeant was barely aware of his colleague's 'Thanks' as he struggled to regain control of his turbulent emotions before his grief gave away to determination. He was going to help find Steve before it was too late.

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Staring at the radio in excitement at the information he had just overheard, the reporter jumped in surprise as he heard the sound of a loud horn and interior of his car suddenly filled with light. Looking up, he barely had time to yank the steering wheel hard to the right and back into his own lane to avoid a head on collision with an approaching car by mere inches. He laughed as the angry driver of the other car shouted obscenities at him as the two cars passed each other, lifting his hand he gave a rude gesture back in response as he pressed his foot harder onto the accelerator, urging the old car to move faster. There was no way he was going to miss out on the action.

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Throwing the mic back down on the seat, Andrew reached for the glove box and opened it, removing the flashlight from within. Straightening up, he turned and faced the SFPD officer standing next to the car before demanding, "I'm going to need your radio, Tom, I'm going to help find Steve."

Grabbing the Andrew's arm, the officer gently tried to stop him as he reminded him of Mike's orders, "I don't think that's such a great idea, Andrew, Stone wanted you to stay here and I don't think he meant it as a suggestion."

"I don't care if I'm disobeying Stone's orders, the last time I checked I'm still off duty and I'm going to help Stone find Steve on my own time." Andrew announced as he grabbed the radio from Tom's hand and shrugged free of the SFPD officer's light hold. Taking a few steps, he paused and turned back towards his friend as he tried to explain. "You heard what Tanner said, Steve has been drugged with 'Dr Death'. When Stone finds Steve, he's going to need all the help he can get if Steve's still on his feet."

"I still don't think it's a good idea, man. Why don't you stay here and let me go?" the officer suggested.

Shaking his head, Andrew turned on the flashlight before he tightened the grip on the radio. "I have to do this Tom. I was the one who talked Steve into coming to this party. He didn't really want to come. He wanted to spend a quiet night with Julie, but I talk him into coming instead and told him there were plenty of other nights that the two of them could be alone. It's my fault this this has happened to them." He admitted before he turned and jogged towards the back of the house and the shoreline beyond it.

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"Steve! Answer me! Steve!" Mike called out to his partner as his eyes desperately scanned the surrounding trees and shoreline for some sign of the ill young man. Behind him in the underbrush and along the shoreline he heard Steve's name being called by the other officers as they searched. Lifting his flashlight higher, he allowed the beam to dimly light up the green undergrowth about a hundred yards ahead and froze as he saw a blue object laying on the ground. "Steve?"

Running towards the object caught in his flashlight's beam, he was aware of several of the SFPD officers running after him. Reaching the piece of material, Mike knelt and picked it up, swallowing hard as he recognized it immediately. It was Steve's blue shirt, Allowing the shirt to slip free from his fingers, he rose to his feet and slowly looked around. The shirt was still damp which indicated that Steve was not too far ahead and by the footsteps he had left in the soft dirt he was still headed south along the bay's edge.

"Mike!"

Andrew 's call from behind caught him by surprise and he turned and watched as the SFPD sergeant hurried to catch up with them.

"I thought I told you to stay at the house." Mike growled as Andrew reached him.

"You did, but I am here anyway." Andrew answered breathlessly before he rushed on, "Bill Tanner just radioed. He couldn't reach you on the radio. The doctors said the drug slipped into the drinks is PMA."

"PMA! Are they sure?" Mike breathed, as he turned and looked along the dark shoreline ahead of them before returning his attention back to Andrew as the younger man nodded. "Does he have any idea of the possible dosage?"

"He believes Steve has possibly been given a lethal dose." Andrew replied softly as he saw Mike's face pale in the moonlight as he continued with Tanner's message, "Julie died just after she reached the hospital and Jordon and the other victim are in critical condition. Bill said to let you know the doctor has the ER on standby."

Mike nodded, "At least now we know what we are dealing with."

"Mike!"

The homicide lieutenant turned at one of the officer shouts before turning in the direction the officer was pointing and staring at the lonesome figure standing like a startled deer in the glow of the officer's flashlight beam.

"Steve!" He called relieved to have found his missing, ill friend.

The young inspector stood frozen with fear in the bright light as the creatures ran towards him.

 _'They have you now.'_ The voice whispered in his head. _'There's nowhere for you to run. They are too close for you to make it into the trees. They will shoot you down like a wild dog. The only chance you have is to get them first.'_

"No!" Steve whispered as he edged away.

"Steve, it’s me, Mike!” Mike called as he saw the young Inspector glance towards the trees lining the bay edge beside him.

 _'They are going to kill you!'_ The voice screamed as the small group got closer. _'You don't have a choice - it's either you or them!'_

"No!" Steve screamed as he raised his gun and turned towards his colleagues. "Leave me alone!"

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Coasting past the house surrounded by SFPD police cars, Donnelly drove a little further along the road. Pulling the car over to the edge of the road in the dark shadows of the trees, the reporter paused as a flickering light through the underbrush caught his eye. Leaning closer to the windshield he squinted in the darkness as he made out the lights of several more flashlights through the underbrush as they moved along the edge of the bay. Faint shouts of Keller' name floated through the air and he smiled in anticipation as he steered the car back onto the road and drove a little closer.

Turning off his headlights to avoid drawing attention, Donnelly turned onto a small barely visible beach track that led towards the bay in the same direction the flashlights were heading. Driving into the thick undergrowth, he rolled the car to a stop and switched off the engine before grabbing the camera off the seat beside him. Opening the door, he quietly slipped outside and made his way to the edge of the tree line, ensuring he remained unseen. His smile widened into a grin as he spotted Keller standing next to the water as Stone, Martin and several SFPD officers carefully made their way towards him.

Donnelly edged closer to the small group of officers who were now surrounding Keller near the water to get a closer view of whatever was going down. He gasped aloud, not quite willing to believe what he was seeing with his own eyes - Keller was holding a gun and was aiming it threateningly at the approaching officers.

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"Steve!" Mike gasped as his drugged partner turned towards them and raised the gun.

"Leave me alone!" The ill man shouted desperately as he pointed the gun at the creatures that were coming towards him.

"Easy, Steve, easy." Mike whispered as he stepped a little closer, "Put the gun down, Buddy boy, no one's going to hurt you.

"Leave me alone!" Steve shouted again as he pointed the gun in the direction of his friends in fear. There was no recognition in Steve's face as he stared at his approaching colleagues.

Dropping onto his knee, hoping to look a little less threatening to his ill friend, Mike was acutely aware that the SFPD officers had drawn their guns and that he had no other choice as he reluctantly pulled his own gun free and aimed it at the chest of his closest friend as he ordered firmly but softly, "Drop the gun, Steve."

"No! No, I won't!" Steve shook his head fearfully as his gun wavered threatening towards Mike and the officers who were now trying to encircle him. "You're going to kill me if I do!" He whispered as he took a terrified step backwards, stepping closer to the water.

Swallowing hard, Mike knew he had to tread carefully. Steve was trembling and sweaty, the wild look in his partner's eyes and the paranoid ramblings warned him that Steve was still under the full influence of the hallucinogenic drug. "Easy Steve, easy. It's me...Steve…Mike. Nobody is going to hurt you." He began again, waving the officers back from the frightened man as he desperately tried to reach through the drug induced fog Steve was now lost in. "I know that you are frightened, Buddy Boy, but I need you to trust me. Someone slipped drugs into your drink while you were at a party this evening and now it is affecting your thinking. We want to help you but first I need you to put the gun down before someone accidentally gets hurt."

"No, you're lying." Steve growled as he swung the gun back towards Mike.

Mike's heart froze in his chest as he saw Steve's finger tighten further on the trigger.

"No Steve, he's not lying." Andrew stepped forward, diverting Steve's attention, "We were at a party, remember? At the house with the girls…" Stepping another slow step closer, Andrew lowered his weapon as Steve turned slightly and watched him warily. "When we were dancing with the girls, someone slipped something into your drink. It's making you hallucinate."

"You're lying! You're trying to trick me!" Steve shouted as he swung the gun around towards Andrew, the terrified look on his face warned Mike of his partner's deadly intention.

"No Steve! Don't!" Mike shouted in horror as he fired his gun a heartbeat after Steve fired his weapon. Nausea rose in the back of Mike's throat as Steve was thrown back onto the unforgiving rocks as the bullet tore into Steve’s chest - his bullet.

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"Oh Lord! This is unbelievable! What a scoop!" Donnelly murmured as he pulled the camera up to his eye and took several quick photos of the unfolding scene in front of him. "If this doesn't get me the top spot on the evening news then nothing will!" He giggled excitedly as he turned and ran back towards his car.


	5. Chapter 5

Moving swiftly to Steve's side, Mike carefully kicked Steve's weapon away from the reach of his friend's lax fingers before he knelt and pressed his trembling fingers against the side of Steve's neck. Blinking away the unshed tears that blurred his vision, he whispered a small prayer of thanks as he felt the weak and irregular beat beneath his fingertips. Pulling his handkerchief from his coat pocket, he gently pulled Steve up into his arms, cradling the unconscious man as he pressed the white material against the rugged wound in an attempt to slow the bleeding. "My God, he's burning up." he murmured softly as he looked down at the pale and sweaty face of his partner, alarmed at the heat that radiated from Steve, before he looked shakily across at the wounded police sergeant. "Are you okay, Andrew?"

"I'm fine." Andrew answered, grimacing as a young officer quickly began to apply pressure to his shoulder, "Just a scratch."

"It's more than a scratch, Lieutenant." the young officer interrupted, looking across at Mike "The bullet has gone all the way through."

"Steve didn't mean it, Mike, he didn't know it was us." Andrew rushed on, ignoring the young officer as he looked anxiously towards his injured friend, "How … how is he?"

"Not good." Mike answered softly as he looked down at the man he held tightly in his arms. "I hit him in the chest." Looking back up at the small group of officers crowded around them, he demanded, "Someone get an ambulance!"

"I already radioed for one, Lieutenant, it's on its way."

"Mike, we heard the shots. What happened?" Pete asked as he ran to the small group of police officers crowded around the two fallen men and knelt the shaken homicide lieutenant.

"He left me no choice, Pete," Mike answered softly, his voice catching on the sob that threatened to escape, as he continued to press down on the ragged bullet wound in Steve' chest in an attempt to slow the bleeding. "He was hallucinating and didn't know it was us. He thought we wanted to kill him. He panicked and shot Andrew …I had no other choice… I had to shoot him." He swallowed hard as he looked down at Steve, holding him a little tighter, "I had no other choice…."

"You did what you had to do, Mike" Pete said gently as the sound of approaching sirens filled the air. "Steve will understand."

Mike nodded unconvinced but any further conversation was forgotten as a doctor followed by two ambulance attendants, carrying medical equipment and two mesh rescue baskets between them, emerged from the undergrowth and hurried across the bank towards them.

Reaching them, the doctor dropped to his knees and pressed his fingers against the side of Steve's neck as he lifted Mike's hand and glanced at the wound beneath.

"He's burning up!" Mike said softly as the attendant lifted Steve from his arms and laid the young inspector onto the ground before slipping an oxygen mask over Steve's face.

"I was told that he may have ingested a lethal dose of para-Methoxyamphetamine." the doctor stated he looked up at Mike.

"It was slipped into his drink." Mike nodded, his eyes never leaving Steve's pale face.

The doctor nodded distractedly as he reached into the medical box, quickly removed a thick dressing and lifting Mike's hand out of the way, taped it firmly over the bullet wound before he glanced across at the ambulance attendant. "We need to start cooling measures before we wrap and run. Let's get him into the basket and start the cool saline drip." He ordered as several officers quickly moved forward to help to gently lift Steve off the ground and into the wire basket as the attendant quickly prepared the drip to be inserted into the back of the patient's hand.

Deftly inserting the needle and connecting the drip, the doctor continued to snap out orders. "Okay, let's pack the ice packs around him, get him covered with the wet sheet and run." Looking over to where the second attendant was treating Andrew, he asked, "How is he?"

"Gunshot wound to his shoulder." The attendant answered as he firmly taped the dressing to Andrew 's back before helping him to settle into the mesh basket and firmly strapping him in. "He's ready to transport."

"Okay, let's get them out of here before this one starts crashing on us." the doctor ordered softly as several officers stepped closer and picked up the two portable stretchers.

Mike hesitated a moment as Steve and Andrew were carefully carried across the damp bank, his eyes traveling briefly over the scene before he turned to Pete. "Take charge here and at the house, Pete. I'll radio for the Internal Affair guys on the way to the hospital. I want a list of the names and addresses of everybody who was at this party and I want to know what happened at that house tonight. If you need me, I will be at the hospital."

"Done, Mike." the sergeant answered but his reply was not heard as Mike turned and ran to catch up with the medical personal and officers carrying the two stretchers.

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"Looks like we have a welcoming party!" The doctor murmured as he looked out the back window at a crowd of media personal as they swarmed forward as the ambulance rolled to a gentle stop outside the General’s Emergency Room doors.

"How the Hell did they find out?" Mike growled as he peered out the window at the reporters and news presenters who were being pushed back away from the back doors of the ambulance by Bill and several officers.

The doctor shrugged as he looked questioningly across at Mike, "How do you want to do this?"

Looking down at Steve's pale and sweaty face, Mike sighed as he glanced back out of the window. "We move fast and get both of them inside as quickly as possible."

Nervously looking out as the back door to the ambulance opened, the young doctor quickly pulled the light, damp sheet higher up and over his patient's shoulders as he swallowed hard, "You're the boss!"

Reaching across, Mike gently squeezed Andrew 's leg, "Are you ready to run the gauntlet? We've got quite a welcoming party waiting for us out there."

"I'm ready." Andrew answered as the attendants began to pull his stretcher from the ambulance.

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"Good night, Darling, I won't be long. This movie is almost finished and I just want to see if he wins her heart or she decides to walk away." Mary Olsen told her husband as she received a small kiss on the cheek before Rudy muttered something about women and their soppy Mills and Boon styled movies as he headed towards their bedroom. Mary laughed softly and she shook her head as she returned her attention back to the television screen. Her smile faded as she began to watch the news report that had interrupted her movie. She quickly rose from her seat and hurried across to the television and turned up the sound as she stared at the images of reporters jostling each other as they tried to get closer to the men and the stretchers that were being removed from the back of an ambulance as the reporter exclaimed excitedly, "San Francisco Police Department have refused to confirm reports that Homicide Inspector Steven Keller shot and wounded another San Francisco police officer, Sergeant Andrew Martin while high on drugs at a party earlier tonight. Keller was then shot by Homicide Lieutenant Michael Stone before he could shoot any other innocent officers. "

"Rudy! Rudy!" she called anxiously as the camera imaged tightened in on one of the stretchers and the man running beside it.

Pulling on his pajama top, Rudy stopped as he heard his wife's distressed call. All thoughts of climbing into bed to read were quickly forgotten as he turned and ran back into the living room to find his wife staring wide eyed at the television screen, her hand clasped tightly to her chest in fear. "Mary, what's wrong?" he asked as he hurried to his wife's side and gently reached for her.

"Look!" she whispered fearfully as she pointed a trembling finger towards the screen. "There has to be some mistake. Steve would never shoot another police officer and he would never take drugs. I know he wouldn't!"

Staring at the screen, the Homicide captain watched silently as the camera refocused back on the young but eager looking reporter who reiterated the breaking news as photos of Mike, Steve and Andrew flashed up in the background, quickly followed by several grainy still photos of the shooting. "A witness to the shooting has confirmed that he watched Inspector Keller, who was armed and appeared to be high from drugs, first threatened and then shot San Francisco police officer, Sergeant Martin, as Martin and several officers tried to disarm him before Keller was shot and disarmed by Lieutenant Stone. We have also received unconfirmed reports that several San Francisco police officers as well, including Martin and Keller, were attending the party where drugs were being used by party-goers."

Turning back to her husband, Mary grabbed his arm as she whispered, "It can't be true, Rudy, there has to be some mistake! Steve would never do this, and Mike …Mike would never shoot Steve, never!"

Rudy Olsen gently disengaged himself from her arms before he cast a last glance at the television screen and growled angrily, "There had better be!" Turning back towards the bedroom, he tugged his pajama shirt free as he hurried back into the room to change as he announced, "And I am going down to that hospital to find out just what the Hell is going on!"

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"Wow what a rush! We really got that party rockin'." Shawn grinned as he followed his friend into the small apartment and headed towards the fridge, opening it and removing two bottles of beer as Tony turned on the television. "Bet it is one party that they won't forget for a long time!" he continued as he opened the small pantry and began to search through it for some nuts.

"Oh Man, what have we done!" Tony gasped as he stared at the scene on the television, "Oh God, we're in real trouble, man!" he groaned as he turned ashen face towards Shawn, "It's all over the television. Some of the guys we drugged at the party were cops! We just drugged a houseful of cops!”

"Really?" Shawn grinned as he hurried across to watch the television, his smile widening as he watched the news report.

"A witness to the shooting has confirmed that he watched Inspector Keller, who was armed and appeared to be high from drugs, first threatened and then shot San Francisco police officer, Sergeant Martin, as several officers tried to disarm him before being shot and disarmed by Lieutenant Stone. We have also received unconfirmed reports that several San Francisco police officers as well, as Martin and Keller, were attending the party where drugs were being used by party-goers." The excited young news reporter tried to look serious as she pushed back a strand of loose black hair as more live footage was played behind her of one of the party goers was pulled out of the back of an ambulance and wheeled into the hospital before it was replaced with pictures of three police officers involved in the shooting. "We will bring you updates as they become available."

"What are we going to do?" Tony asked fearfully as the movie the report had interrupted returned to the screen. "We drugged a cop and he shot another one. The cops aren't going to sit back and let this go. They're gunna be tearing this town apart trying to find us!"

"Not if the cop who did the shooting was the one who supplied the drugs." Shawn laughed, slapping his friend on the shoulder as he turned away from the television, his eyes shining brightly in excitement.

Tony frowned in confusion, "What do you mean?" he asked cautiously.

"Think about it, man, what if they find these at his place? " Shawn giggled as he pulled the small bottle of tablets out of his pocket and rattled them triumphantly. "And word on the street is that he’s dealin'.The cops will be so busy trying to prove that the cop is innocent that they won't have time to look for us."

"You mean set him up?"

"Yeah, man, it will take the heat off us, especially when no one saw what we did at the party." Shawn grinned as he grabbed for the phone book and began to flip the pages open, "What was that cop's name again?"

"I think she said Keller, Steve Keller." Tony answered softly as he watched Shawn quickly flick to the right page and trail his finger down the page until he stopped and smiled.

"Got it!" he announced as he put the book down before grabbing a pen and jotting down an address. Straightening back up, he turned and hurried towards the door as he called, "You comin'?"


	6. Chapter 6

Parking his car as close to the emergency entrance door as he could, Rudy Olsen ignored the media personal who quickly surrounded him and pushed microphones and tape recorders in front of his face as they shouted questions about Keller, drug use within SFPD and the night's shootings. Pushing through the claustrophobic crush of reporters, he stepped through the Emergency entrance doors and quickly looked around, spotting the man whom he was looking for standing near two examination room doors. He called Mike's name as he quickly crossed the foyer, determined to find out just what the hell happened.

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Slumping down on the hard hospital chair, Donnelly tried to hide the camera he held beneath his jacket as he watched Tanner and several SFPD officers push back the mob of reporters and television news presenters as they swarmed towards the back of the ambulance outside. He was unable to repress the small triumphant smile as he quickly glanced around; reassuring himself that nobody had noticed him as the two ambulance gurneys wheeled past, surrounded by medical personal and accompanied by Stone, before they were taken into two separate examination rooms. Clutching his camera tighter, he watched as Stone was stopped at the door of the emergency room where Keller had been taken and told to wait in the waiting room.

The reporter quickly dropped his head, not daring to look at the homicide lieutenant in case Stone noticed him as the lieutenant slowly turned and looked around. He had had run-ins with Stone before and usually ended up coming off second best from their encounters. Cautiously, he looked up as he heard Olsen call Stone's name from across the foyer and watched as the homicide captain hurried across to join Stone in front of the examination room doors. Trying to act as inconspicuously as he could be with his camera clutched tightly beneath his coat, Donnelly rose from his seat and ambled across to pick up a magazine on the small corner table before he moved a little closer to the two homicide officers and sat down. Opening up the magazine, he pretended to read as he tried to eavesdrop in on their softly spoken conversation, only to be disappointed when before the two officers moved into a small empty office and closed the door.

Donnelly felt his heart begin to race as he realized now was the time to take the chance he had been waiting for. Quickly looking around, he rose from his seat and hurried across to the room where Keller taken into a few minutes before. This was going to be the shot that would adorn the front page of the morning paper he thought as he pushed open the door and stepped inside, lifting the camera to his eye as he began to take photos. The young homicide inspector opened his eyes and cried out in fear something about monsters, as the camera flashes lit up the room, and began to struggle wildly with the doctors and nurses as they tried to restrain him.

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Joining Mike outside the two emergency room doors, Rudy asked breathlessly, "How are they?"

"Andrew took a round in the shoulder - the bullet went right through. The doctors are preparing him for surgery. Steve took one in the chest," Mike's swallowed hard and took a deep breath as he removed his glasses and rubbed a shaking hand over his face, trying to surreptitiously wipe away the moisture pooling in his eyes before he continued, "combined with the suspected drug overdose, it doesn't look good. He's critical. They are trying to stabilize him now."

Rudy glanced around, ensuring that they were out of ear shot before he hissed angrily, "What the hell is going on, Mike? And why did I have to find out from a late-night news report that Keller and several other officers were attending a party where drugs were being used? Even worse than the fact that they were at a party where there were drugs, Keller was so high that he shot a colleague and had to be taken out with extreme force by his own partner to prevent him from shooting anyone else! And I wasn't even notified about what had even happened!"

"This is not the place to discuss what happened, Rudy!" Mike growled as he noticed several people glancing in their direction, frowning as he saw a familiar looking figure slumped on a chair. The figure was quickly forgotten as Rudy grabbed his arm and led him towards the small empty waiting room.

"Okay Mike, we won't discuss it here, so let's go somewhere more private when we can discuss it." Rudy agreed heatedly as he led Mike into an empty office across from the two examination rooms and closed the door behind. Spinning around to face Mike, Rudy demanded again, "Well, what the hell is going on? And why did I have to find out on the late-night news? I should have been notified immediately!"

"There just wasn't time to contact you, I had a cop. my partner who was hallucinating and paranoid and armed with a gun wandering around in the dark. I just couldn't take the chance Steve would run into an innocent civilian...," Mike answered defensively, before he lowered his voice as he forced himself to push his tumultuous emotions aside and slip into cop mode as he gave his report, "There was still a lot of confusion when I arrived at the scene but the initial reports I received when I arrived suggested that someone thought it would be funny to spike party goers' drinks at a party that Steve and Andrew and several off duty officers were attending. The doctors have since confirmed the drug used was P.M.A.""

"P.M.A.?" Rudy frowned; the drug name sounded frighteningly familiar.

"Para-Methoxyamphetamine, better known on the street as Doctor Death." Mike answered as he forced himself to continue his report neutrally, "Several party goers, including Steve, unwittingly ingested what doctors believe were lethal dosages of the drug. We have two dead and three others, including Steve, have been admitted to the hospital in critical condition." Mike swallowed hard as a small guilty voice in his mind reminded him that he was partly responsible for Steve's condition.

"God!" Olsen muttered softly.

"Andrew told me that Steve began to complain about not feeling well a few minutes after finishing a drink that he had left sitting on a table while he was dancing with his girlfriend. Steve went outside to cool down but before Andrew could follow him and make sure he was okay, all hell broke loose inside when other party goers began to hallucinate and collapse. Andrew told me that Tommy Wellings ran into Steve after Steve had left the party. Wellings told Andrew that Steve appeared to also be hallucinating, ranting about how someone or something was after him. When Tommy tried to stop Steve from leaving, Steve pulled his off-duty weapon and threatened him before fleeing along the bay foreshore." Rudy remained silent as Mike continued. "I arranged a search party immediately and we located him on the shore, south of the house, several minutes later. He was hallucinating and panicked when we surrounded him."

"And he shot Andrew?"

"He panicked when we found him, it was obvious that he was hallucinating and he was terrified that we were trying to kill him, he warned us several times to stay away. We were trying to calm him down but Andrew got too close and…he…he shot Andrew" Mike paused and looked away, unable to look Rudy in the face as he struggled with the guilt that threatened to overwhelm him as he swallowed hard, his voice catching in his throat as he forced himself to look back up at Rudy, "I had no choice, Rudy, I had to take Steve down before he hurt or killed anyone else."

Rudy nodded, patting Mike on the shoulder in a silent show of support and understanding, before he asked softly, "How did the media find out what was happening?"

"I don't know," Mike shook his head slowly, before he looked back at Rudy, his fury evident on his face as he growled, "but I am as sure as hell going to find out!"

"Hold it, Mike, after what happened tonight, and the fact the reporters have swarmed all over this like vultures, I don't want any possible rumors or hints of a cover-up. " Lowering his voice, Rudy quietly but firmly told him. "I'm sorry Mike, but Internal Affairs will have to oversee this investigation. I don't want you involved at all."

"Rudy…"

Holding up his hand to halt any objections, Rudy continued, "The media are already watching our every move, I want to ensure that this investigation is totally transparent and that we have nothing to hide. I just hope that your initial reports about the drinks being spiked are correct, Mike, because if there is even a hint that Keller, Martin or any of the other officers who were at the party were using drugs then their careers are over and there won't be a damn thing we can do about it!"

"If you think for one minute that I am going to…" The irate lieutenant's sentence remained unspoken as he was interrupted by the sounds of angry shouting from outside the room. Turning swiftly, he yanked the door open and ran, with Rudy close behind, towards the examination room that Steve was in and where the shouts was coming from.

Pushing open the door, he was shocked to find a reporter taking photos of Steve as doctor yelled at the man to leave. Roughly grabbing the reporter, Mike snatched the camera from the man's hand and pushed into Rudy's hand before spinning the reporter around and pushing him forcefully against the wall. Pulling out his handcuffs from his coat pocket, he snapped them tightly around the wrists of the protesting reporter before he spun him back around. "I should have known!" He growled in disgust as he recognized the reporter's face. "Donnelly!"

"Hey what do you think you are doing Stone?" The angry reporter shouted, "Get these cuffs off of me and give me my camera back!"

"Someone get him out of here!" The doctor ordered as he glanced towards Mike and the restrained reporter before returning his attention back to the now highly agitated man on the examination bed as a terrified Steve pleaded and begged for them to let him go as he desperately fought against the hands that were holding him down, crying out in terror about monsters only he could see who were attacking him.

"Get your hands off me! This is police brutality!" Donnelly yelled as Mike pushed him roughly out through the door.

"Just how the Hell did you get in here?" Mike demanded as he turned the furious reporter back to face him, "And what the Hell do you think you are doing?"

"My job, Stone! I am reporting breaking news! It's called freedom of the press!" Donnelly growled, "Now get these damn cuffs off of me and give me my camera back or I will lay charges!"

"Let him go Mike and give him his camera back." Rudy instructed softly. "He is just doing his job. There is nothing that we can charge him with!"

"You can't be serious!" Mike hissed as he angrily turned towards Olsen.

"He's just doing his job, Mike, even if we don't agree or like his methods. He hasn't broken any laws." Olsen reiterated, allowing Mike no chance to argue as he ordered firmly. "Now release him and give him his camera back."

Mike reluctantly release the reporter from the tight handcuffs before Rudy handed back the camera as Donnelly grinned in triumph before he strutted away, looking pleased with himself.

"We need to keep this investigation transparent remember." Rudy quietly reminded Mike as he grabbed Mike's shoulder to prevent him from going after Donnelly as the grinning reporter walked out of the E.R. "Why don't we go back into the Doctor's Room and wait until the doctors can update us on Steve's and Andrew 's condition." He suggested firmly as he gently steered the furious man back into the empty room.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

"Come on, what's taking so long. Someone's gunna see us!" Tony hissed nervously as he looked quickly over his shoulder while Shawn jiggled the nail file in the lock of the apartment's front door.

"Almost got it…" Shawn murmured as he gave the nail file a small twist and was rewarded by the soft distinct click as the door unlocked and slowly opened. "See told ya it would be a piece of cake!" He grinned as he straightened and pushed the door wider before quickly entering the apartment, followed closely by his uneasy companion. "Close the door!" He ordered as he swiftly looked around the dark apartment and spotted the door to the small bedroom.

Trailing slowly behind, Tony stopped as he reached the bedroom and watched anxiously as Shawn flicked on his torch before hurried to the side of the bed and knelt down in front of the bedside table closest to the door. "Are you sure this will work?" He asked nervously as Shawn opened the table drawer before removing a small bottle from his pocket.

Popping off the top of the bottle, Shawn scattered several of the small tablets onto the top of the bedside table and the surrounding floor. "Of course, it's gunna work. Gotta make it look like he was in a hurry before he left for the party." He explained confidently as he quickly wiped the bottle with the bottom of his shirt before dropping the open bottle of pills into the open drawer. "And just to make it look like the cop was dealing the heavy stuff…" he smirked as he removed several extremely small, clear plastic bags filled with a white powder from his pocket and using the bottom of his shirt as a glove, arranged them carefully next to the open bottle.

"That's not…" Tony whispered in surprise as he stared wide eyed at the small bags.

"Yeah, it is!" Shawn grinned as he rose to his feet and proudly studied his handiwork. "I'm sorry to have to part with them but it's for a good cause. Once the cops see this stash, there ain't no way they will be looking for anyone else. They'll definitely buy that this cop's dealin' and got high before he supplied the drugs at the party tonight. There's no way they'll be able to link what happened at that party to us. Come on, let's get out of here before anyone comes." He ordered softly as he turned and headed towards the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Looking up from the report he was writing, Charlie watched as Lee Lessings entered the small forensic laboratory. From the little information about what had happened at the party that he had been able to glean from officers at the scene as he had collected the evidence, he was not surprised to see one of the homicide inspectors trying to rush him up with processing the evidence that had been collected at the party. He just hoped the evidence he had collected would be enough to clear Keller's and the other officers' names.

"Have you got anything for us?" Lee asked as he approached the bench where Charlie was sitting.

"There is white residue in the bottom of several glasses and at least two bottles of beer." Charlie told Lee as he picked up one of the half-filled glasses with a gloved hand and held it up towards the light, allowing Lee to see the fine white powdery looking residue that still rested at the bottom of the liquid. "The only fingerprints on the glasses and bottles belong to the victims themselves but that's not surprising, less conspicuous if whoever spiked the drinks casually dropped the tablets in. There would be no need for them to touch the glasses or bottles, so the other guest would be less likely to notice what they were doing. I doubt any of the victims would have even been aware that their drinks had been spiked. I have taken samples from each of the glasses and bottles and have run them through the Gas Chromatograph, but I am certain they will test positive for PMA."

Lee nodded as he studied the shimmering liquid in the glass that the forensic scientist held up in front of him before he glanced around at the other empty glasses and half-filled bottles sitting on the metal bench in the crime lab.

"I remember when they used to use Chloral Hydrate in Mickey Finns just to knock out their victims to make it easier to rob them." Charlie told the younger man as he placed the glass back down on the bench and rose from his seat and walked across to a strange looking machine that sat against the far wall as it began to print out the results of the test.

"Now they use PMA and other hallucinogenics instead to get the party rocking." Lee sighed as he watched Charlie hurry across the room and tear free the completed printout.

"This should tell us if the residue is PMA," Charlie announced as he studied the paper.

"Well..." Lee pushed when Charlie didn't speak immediately but continued to study the piece of paper he held in his hand. "Is it PMA?"

The forensic specialist nodded slowly before he looked up at Lee and handed him the sheet of paper. "It's a potent mixture of PMA laced with Glyphosate."

"Glyphosate?" Lee frowned.

"It's the poisonous ingredient found in most common household weed killers." Charlie explained.

"Damn!" Lee murmured as he glanced uncertainly at the squiggly red lines that decorated the piece of paper Charlie had just given him before returning his attention back to Charlie.

"Whoever produced it wanted to stretch their merchandise as far as they could."

"So, they laced it with weed killer to produce more." Lee breathed in disgust.

"They were not interested in how safe it would be, just how much they could make." Charlie continued. "But by doing so they have made the drug deadlier and easier to identify – the mixture of Glyphosate and PMA are like the drug's own unique fingerprint. When you find the tablets, I will be able to confirm if they are from the same batch of drug that was used at the party tonight."

"Good work, Charlie!" Lee called over his shoulder as he rushed out of the lab, "I'll let Mike know."

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Walking back to his car, Bill stopped in surprise as he saw Lee Lessing's LTD turn into the hospital parking lot and park close to his own LTD. Lee had been called back to the station to help take the statements of the party-goers, so something big must have happened with the case that had cause Lee to come to the hospital, probably to report to Mike or Olsen. He hurried across to join his colleague, not even waiting for Lee climbed out of the car before he asked, "I thought you were back in the bullpen taking witness statements. Has there been a break in the case?"

"Yeah I'm supposed to be but I decided to check with lab to see if they had processed any of the evidence yet."

"And?"

"Charlie found residue found in the bottom of the glasses and bottles used by the victims. He tested it"

"And he found the glasses were laced with PMA?" Bill asked impatiently.

"It wasn't just PMA, the PMA was laced with weed killer." Lee told his colleague as Bill change his direction and headed back into the hospital with Lee.

"Weed killer? Is Charlie sure?" Bill asked.

"Yeah, he thinks the Glyphosate was mixed in with the PMA to make it stretch. I radioed ahead and alerted the doctor but I thought after what happened it would be better if I told Mike face to face." Lee answered as they hurried towards the emergency department doors. "What's the word on Steve or Andrew?"

"Andrew's listed as satisfactory condition and stable, the doctors were preparing him for surgery when I left. Steve's … Steve's not doing so great." Bill sighed as they stepped inside before he stopped and grabbed Lee's arm and added softly, "Mike's taking it hard. He's blaming himself for having to shoot Steve. If Steve doesn't make it, I'm not sure how Mike is going to deal with it."

"From what the guys who attended the scene told me, it sounds to me like Mike had no other choice. Steve was high on PMA and armed with a gun. He had already shot Andrew, if Mike hadn't shot him when he did it could have ended in a bloodbath. Nobody blames Mike for having to take Steve down and I am sure Steve won't blame him either when Steve recovers."

"Maybe... but Mike isn't going to stop blaming himself, especially if Steve…" Bill shook his head, unable to voice the fear that everyone held. Pushing the depressing thought away as he continued, "And it doesn't help that the media have already got wind of what happened tonight. It was like a media circus when the ambulance carrying Steve and Andrew arrived at the hospital."

"How did they find out so fast?" Lee asked, shocked that news vultures were already circling.

"I don't know but I am going to make it my own personal mission to find out." Bill growled, acutely aware that Steve would be tried, found guilty and hung out to dry by the media before all the facts were out. "If Steve does recover - his reputation is going to be shot. The media are going to rip him apart – they won't care how he was drugged, the only thing they will focus on is the fact that he was high on drugs when he shot Andrew. The chances are his career as a cop will be over."

"Mike will never let that happen." Lee answered confidently, "He will prove that what happened to Steve tonight was not his fault - it could have happened to anyone."

"Mike may not be able to save Steve's career, Lee. Mud sticks and some of our local reporters love flinging mud, especially when it involves a cop, and in this case a cop who shot another cop while high on drugs. It helps sell papers and we both know just how much the public loves a juicy story about a bad cop." Bill reminded lee as he turned and led his colleague to the small office where Rudy and Mike were waiting for any updates on Steve's and Andrew's conditions

SOSF SOSF SOSF

"Do you really think it will work?" Tony asked his companion nervously as he followed Shawn back into the small apartment that they shared. "I mean, he's a cop... are you sure they are going to believe that he is dealing drugs?"

Shawn sighed in annoyance as he headed towards the refrigerator and opened it before removing two bottles of beer. Opening both bottles, he glanced over his shoulder to see if Tony was watching before he turned back and removed a small package from his pocket. "Why wouldn't they?" he asked as he carefully shook the last four tablets free from the plastic envelope and dropped them into one of the bottles, before shaking it gently. Ensuring the small tablets were fully dissolved, Shawn carried the two bottles across to where his younger friend was seated. "I mean he was as high as a kite when he shot that other cop." he smiled as he passed the now foaming bottle of beer to Tony.

"Hey, what did you do to my beer?" Tony asked, as he accepted the foaming bottle.

"Hey, I almost dropped it when I grabbed it out of the fridge, so it got shook up a little. Now, are you going to drink it, or should I just take it back?" Shawn growled.

"No, it's okay," Tony answered hastily, taking several large gulps from the bottle before Shawn could snatch it back. Lowering the bottle, he eyed his friend. "So how do the cops find out about the drugs in the cop's apartment?

"Easy, I'm gunna make a tearful confession at the hospital about how we bought drugs off a cop earlier tonight, the same cop who is now all over the news tonight for shooting another cop at a party…"

"Tearful confession?" Tony frowned in confusion as he stared suspiciously at his friend.

"Yeah, man, and just to make it look believable when I tell them about buying the drugs," Shawn grinned evilly as he lifted Tony's bottle back up to his friend's lips and forced him to finish drinking what was still in the bottle, "You are going to be admitted to the hospital suffering from a drug overdose after taking the same drugs that everyone overdosed on at that party!"


	8. Chapter 8

Rudy silently watched as Mike Stone paced the small waiting room. He knew Mike was upset and angry that he had been removed from the investigation and Donnelly been allowed to go free with the photos of Keller being treated in the emergency room. Rubbing a hand through his thinning hair, Rudy had no doubts that those photos would be splashed on every TV screen and newspaper by the morning if they were not already being shown. He sighed. There had really been no other choice. Even though what Donnelly had done was morally disgusting and showed just how low the scumbag reporter was willing to scoop to get his story, legally he had the freedom of the press to hide behind and justify his immoral actions.

He just hoped that the damage to both SFPD's and Steve's reputations were not irreversible but he was very much aware that if it was found that Steve, Andrew Martin or any of the other officers who had attended that party had knowingly taken the drugs, their police careers would be publicly over. And if one of them had supplied the drugs, he would have no choice but to ensure that they would be arrested, so that could they prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

The tension in the room was palpable and Rudy shifted in discomfort. Glancing down at his watch, he sighed. It had been over two hours since Steve and Andrew had both been rushed into surgery, although they had not been allowed into the Emergency rooms to see either men before they were taken up to the OR, the surgeons had promised to update them as soon as both men were in Recovery.

He swallowed down his sigh of relief when the waiting room door opened and the surgeon finally entered the room. Rising from his seat he joined Mike as he hurried across the room and met the physician halfway across the room. Still dressed in blue scrubs with his surgical mask still dangling around his neck, Rudy realized the surgeon had come straight from the OR to update them.

"Doc?" Mike asked anxiously.

"Both Sergeant Martin and Inspector Keller are both settled in Recovery." the surgeon began, as he tugged the blue surgical hat from his head. "Sergeant Martin's condition is stable and satisfactory. The bullet struck his collar bone, breaking it before passing through the shoulder. We needed set his collar bone and clean out the wound. He was extremely lucky, the bullet missed the Subclavian artery. With some time off to rest and recover and some physical therapy, he is looking good for a full recovery."

"And Steve?"

"Inspector Keller's condition is critical," the surgeon answered as he pulled the blue surgical cap from his sweat soaked hair before he looked at Mike's guilt ridden face and tried to offer the upset Lieutenant a small amount of reassurance, "but holding his own. The bullet lodged in the top of his lung, partially collapsing it. We removed the bullet and were able to repair and re-inflate his lung." The surgeon hesitated, glancing at Rudy before returning his attention back to Mike.

"But?" Mike pressed softly as the waiting room door opened again and Nat Steinner stepped into the room. The Internal Affairs officer silently nodded his greeting at the other men in the room, not wanting to interrupt surgeon's report.

"But PMA and Glyphosate in his system are a serious complication."

"Glyphosate?" Nat interrupted, frowning.

"Charlie found residue in the bottom of several glasses and bottles that were removed from the party. He tested the residue in the Gas Chromatography and found that the PMA had been laced with weed killer. He believes they probably added it to stretch the merchandise." Lee announced as he and Bill entered the room and he handed the thin file he carried to Mike to peruse as he explained, "I radioed the doctor on my way here."

"My God!" Rudy gasped softly.

Mike swallowed hard as he glanced over the report before he silently passed it across for Nat to study as he looked back at the surgeon.

"All we can do is treat his symptoms until both the PMA and the Glyphosate is out of his system. We will keep him sedated for the next few hours, try and keep his temperature down and give him medication to slow his heart rate and to prevent him from going into seizures. We are also going to monitor him extremely closely for any cerebral hemorrhaging or for kidney shutdown." The surgeon told Mike, after anticipating Mike's next question.

"What…what are his chances?" Mike asked softly, his voice breaking a little as he struggled to maintain his composure.

"Not good." The surgeon answered truthfully.

"Can I see him?"

"I'm sorry, no visitors for either patient until morning."

"When will it be possible to interview Keller, Martin and the other victims?" Nat interrupted.

"Sergeant Martin should be well enough to be interviewed in the morning but I'm afraid Inspector Keller and the others…" The surgeon shrugged, "None are in any condition to be interviewed during the next twelve to twenty-four hours and then it depends on if and just how well they respond to treatment. "Now if you will excuse me, I really need to get back to my patients."

"Thanks Doc." Rudy said as the surgeon nodded and turned to leave. "If there's any change in their conditions…"

"I will update you immediately." The surgeon called back over his shoulder as he hurried out of the room.

"Nat!"

The five SFPD officers turned as Adrian Darlington entered the room, dodging around the departing doctor.

"Nat, there's a kid who has just been admitted to the E.R. suffering from an overdose of PMA. His friend told the medical staff that they had bought the drugs of a dealer earlier tonight." Adrian told his partner as he reached the five men, "I've just spoke to the patient's friend."

Nat glanced at the four homicide officers before he turned back to his partner and asked the question he thought he already knew the answer to. "Did the kid know the dealer's name by any chance?"

His partner nodded excitedly, "Yeah, he claims that he had met the dealer several times when he bought drugs from him at the dealer's apartment, and get this Nat, he claims the dealer's name is Keller, Steve Keller. He was even able to give me Keller's address."

"And you believe him?" Mike hissed.

Nat held up his hand to silence Mike as he asked his partner, "How credible is this kid's story?"

"Credible! The kid claims that he went to Keller' apartment to score some dope yesterday. He told me that Keller offered him to sell him LSD or heroin or a combination of both. I've already arranged for a warrant to search Keller's apartment."

"Oh, come on Nat, you can't be serious?" Mike growled angrily, "You don't really believe this kid, do you?"

"You know we have to check out the allegations," Nat reminded Mike firmly, "especially after everything that has happened tonight."

"Then I am coming, too!" Mike insisted.

"Mike, I have already told you that you are no longer allowed to investigate this case." Nat reminded Mike firmly.

"I might not be allowed to work the case but it does involve my partner!" Mike growled. "Besides, I have a key to Steve's apartment," he finished, pulling his key ring from his pocket and dangling it in front of the two I.A officers.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Standing in front of Steve's apartment door, Mike Stone reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. It took him only a moment to select the key he was looking for before he inserted it into the lock and opened the door, stepping aside to allow the Internal Affairs officer to enter the apartment first.

Following them into the dark apartment, Mike flicked on the light switch that was located next to the door and watched silently as Nat and his partner began to search the small living room and Nat searched the kitchen. Stone ran his hand over his face, still unable to believe that this was not some type of a bad dream as he watched Nat methodically searched through the kitchen cupboards and drawers, removing their contents before checking every item thoroughly. "You don't really believe the kid's story do you, Nat?" Mike asked again as the Internal Affairs officer turned and headed towards the partially open bedroom door.

"About Keller dealing drugs?" Nat asked as he paused and looked at Mike. "No, I don't. But as we both know, Mike, when a serious allegation has been made against an officer and I have to check it out, especially after what happened at that party tonight. The media is all over this and we can't risk any hint of a cover up."

Mike sighed and nodded as he slowly followed Nat into the bedroom, freezing in shock as he found himself staring at the open bedside table and the tablets scattered on top.

Moving closer to the small bedside table, Nat looked inside the open drawer before he pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket and reached inside. "I'm afraid things don't look too good for Keller at the moment," he admitted before carefully lifting a small bottle that contained several tablets out of the drawer and showed Mike and his partner before he carefully placed it back.

"Is that?" Adrian frowned.

"There are several small bags of white powder in here as well. I will have to get the lab to test it, but I am guessing it's heroin." Nat nodded as he opened the drawer a little wider and scanned the rest of the drawer’s contents.

"It can't be." Mike whispered in disbelief, "Not Steve…there has to be some other explanation."

"Until we can find out what it is, I would advise that you to hire Keller a good lawyer." The Internal Affairs officer advised Mike softly as he ushered Stone from the room. "Because with the statement from the kid at the hospital and now the evidence we just found, I have no choice but to arrest Keller on the felony charges of possession, distribution and sale of controlled substances. And that could be the first of many more charges. We still have to investigate what happened at that party, Mike, and if Keller was involved, he could be facing more charges including the attempted murder of a police officer and the murder and attempted murder of several guests at that party."

"This has to be a set up." Mike growled.

"If it is Mike, then the only way you can help your partner is like I said before, get him a good lawyer and let us do our investigation." Nat said quietly as he reached for the phone, hesitating before he dialed the forensic lab and for more officers to search the apartment. Looking across at Mike, Nat added quietly, "If it's any comfort Mike, I think you are right and I am going to try my damn best to clear Keller's name."

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Donnelly could feel his heart beating hard as he parked his car and glanced up at the dark fourth floor apartment window. Glancing into his rear vision mirror, his heart began to beat even faster as he saw the dark sedan coast to a stop near the apartment entrance doors before Stone and two other men climbed out and climb the stairs to Keller's apartment before unlocking the front door and entering. The two other men had to be the Internal Affairs men, Donnelly silently decided as he reached across and grabbed his camera, waiting for a few moments before he exited his own car and trotted across to the building.

He was not sure just who the young man who had left a message on his new high tech answering machine was, tipping him off that Stone and the Internal Affairs officers would probably be paying Keller' apartment a visit. The caller had hinted that they would find the dirty cop's drugs there and had urged him to be present when they did.

Why the caller had decided to tip him off, Donnelly decided that he neither knew nor even cared but he had no intention of ignoring the tip. If the young caller was correct, this could be his chance to leave the small time rag, they laughingly called a newspaper, behind.

Jogging up the stairs he reached the apartment's front door. A small smile lit up his face as he listened momentarily to the voices within.

"Until we can find out what it is, I would advise that you to hire Steve a good lawyer. Because with the statement from the kid at the hospital and now the evidence we just found, I have no choice but to arrest Steve on the felony charges of possession, distribution and sale of controlled substances. And that could be the first of many more charges. We still have to investigate what happened at that party, Mike, and if Steve was involved, he could be facing more charges including the attempted murder of a police officer and the murder and attempted murder of several guests at that party."

"This has to be a set up."

"If it is Mike, then the only way to help Steve is to prove it - and with you off the case, it would have to be unofficially investigated of course. If it's any comfort Mike, I think you are right and I am going to try my damn best to clear Steve's name."

His smile morphed into a triumphant grin as he pulled his camera up to his eye and pushed the door wide open, startling the three men inside as he began to quickly press the shutter, photographing everything he could, the two Internal Investigation cops, the tablets and a bags of what he assumed was drugs laying on top and in the open drawer of the bedside table and best of all the shocked look on Stone's face.


	9. Chapter 9

"Donnelly!" The reporter's name slipped from Mike's lips like a curse as he lunged at the reporter.

"Hey back off, Stone, I'm just doing my job!" Donnelly smirk as he shoved Mike away and took another photo as he added, "It's not my fault that your partner is a dirty cop."

"Mike, no!" Nat yelled as he and Adrian dove to grab Mike as he roughly grabbed the sleazy reporter and flung him hard against the wall before snatching the camera from his hands.

"Hey, leave that alone!" Donnelly shrieked as Mike opened up the back of the camera and yanked the film free, throwing it onto the ground before stomping on it. Throwing the camera down onto the floor, he stepped menacingly towards the reporter, his hands clenched tightly in front of him.

Donnelly cowered in fear and he lifted his hands to protect his head as Mike stepped closer.

"Mike!" Nat roared as he and Adrian managed to grab Mike's arms and forcibly dragged him away before he reached the now terrified man, "Leave him alone! Let us handle him!" Nat commanded, satisfied they had managed to separate the two men far enough for Mike to no longer be a danger to the sniffling man who was now crouched in fear on the ground before he let go of the enraged man's arm and stepped in front of him.

"Let go of me!" Mike demanded as he struggled to break free from Adrian's grip.

"Mike, listen to me!" Nat ordered, before lowering his voice when Mike finally stopped struggling and looked at him, "He's not worth losing your career over!"

"You saw him! He assaulted me!" Donnelly yelled as he rose slowly to his feet, confident that the two officers and the officers who had just entered the apartment and were now silently watching, would hold Stone back if homicide lieutenant made another attempt to assault him. "I want him charged!"

Turning back to the reporter, Nat threatened, "Donnelly, just shut the hell up before I decide to let him go and walk away."

The reporter paled as he glanced at Mike, who was still glaring at him, seeing the challenge to say another word in the lieutenant's eyes. He swallowed hard as he looked back at the angry IA officer and realized the officer's threat was not an idle one. Lifting his hands in a silent show of surrender, the reporter fell silent.

Satisfied the reporter had been temporarily silenced, Nat turned and roughly grabbed Mike by the arm as he led him towards the apartment's front door, stepping aside to allow the forensic team to enter as he quietly ordered, "Mike, I want you to go with Adrian, I need you to give him a statement about what happened earlier tonight at the bay, leave nothing out, and then I want your written report about the shooting on my desk when I get back to the station. And then, go home, take some time off. I want you to stay as far away from this case as you can and let us investigate it! And Mike, that's not a suggestion it's an order!" Lowering his voice, Nat squeezed Mike's shoulder as he added, "We will get to the bottom of this, if Keller's innocent, we will clear him, I promise."

Nodding to his partner to escort the angry homicide lieutenant out, Nat waited until the door closed behind them before he looked back at the silent newspaper reporter still standing against the wall where Mike had thrown him. "Sit down and don't say another word!" Nat growled him pointing towards the sofa before he turned back towards one of the uniformed officers and ordered. "Watch him, if he moves off that sofa, shoot him!"

"Uhh, yes Sir!" the startled officer replied, glancing down at Donnelly who appeared equally as shocked at the order before he looked back at the IA officer's back as Nat turned and ordered the other officers in the room. "I want this apartment searched from top to bottom." Turning away, confident that his orders would be followed, Nat followed Charlie into the bedroom.

Charlie knelt in front of the bedside drawer before removing his fingerprinting brush and powder from his bag and looked up at the IA officer walked and asked, "Just want the drawer and the packages done?"

"No, I want you to do the whole apartment." Nat ordered.

"The whole apartment?" Charlie asked in surprise, "You sure?"

"Yeah, I want to know everyone who has been in this apartment."

"That's going to be a big job, Nat, could take me a while."

Nat nodded as he stepped aside as the police photographer began to take photos of the scattered tablets on the floor and on top of the bedside. "What about the tablets?"

"That won't take me as long, a couple of hours and I will be able to confirm if they are from the same batch as the drugs used at the party tonight."

Slapping the older man lightly on the shoulder, Nat murmured, "Thanks Charlie," before adding softly, "And Charlie make this case top priority."

"You know I will." Charlie answered as Nat turned away.

Rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, momentarily regretting his decision to allow Stone to tag along, he looked around the neatly kept bedroom, Nat sighed, "I hope Stone is right about you, Keller, because if he's not…" Pushing the thought away, he walked back into the living room and crossed to where Donnelly was sitting. Grabbing the reporter's arm, he unceremoniously pulled Donnelly to his feet as he announced, "Okay Donnelly, you and I are going to have a little chat down at the station." Leading the reporter towards the door, he called over his shoulder to the SFPD sergeant who was helping search the apartment, "Tom, you're in charge here, if you need me, I'll be in Stone's office."

SOSF SOSF SOSF

"How many times do I have to go over this, Man? I've already told you and that other cop who I spoke to at the hospital everything I know." Shawn complained as he glanced around the homicide bullpen where he had been escorted to from the hospital before he returned his attention back to the homicide inspector sitting on the other side of the desk in front of him.

"So, tell me again," Bill said quietly as he picked up a pen and got ready to write young man's statement that the IA guys wanted, "from the beginning. Everything from the first time you were introduced to your dealer to buying the drugs off him tonight and don't leave a single thing out."

"Look man, I first met him a few months ago through a friend when I was looking to score. I was told he's the 'Go to Guy' if you wanted to score." Shawn shook his head, "It wasn't 'til later that I found out he was a cop. Really surprised and worried me for a while but hey, he's cool. As he said ain't nobody going to suspect a cop of dealin'."

Bill's fingers tightened around the pen he held as he listened to the lies and he struggled to keep a neutral expression on his face as he asked, "So how did you contact him when you wanted to score?"

"Normally, I would just call him when I wanted to score, and he would meet me at an old café on Pier 33." Shawn laughed, "Hell, I even contacted him once he at the station when he was on duty."

"And tonight?"

Shawn frowned, "Tonight…tonight was different, when I called him to score, he was in a hurry, he had somewhere to go so he told me to come to his apartment. I was surprised he would want to meet me there but hey man, he's a cop, some sort of cop inspector and I'm just a junkie, so I guess he must have figured if it ever came down to it, it was my word against his and who would believe me anyway. Anyway, tonight I went to his place to score, all I wanted was a couple of beans, you know to start the night off right."

"Beans?"

"Ecstasy, man! You know … the love drug, California Sunrise…"

"Where did he get the tablets from?"

Shawn shrugged, "He went into his bedroom and shut the door so I couldn't see what he was doing but when he came out he had the tablets and a couple of bags of horse but I ain't into that heavy stuff, so I just bought a few tablets to get us through the night and left.'

"And then what did you do?"

"After we popped the tablets, Tony and I heard about some party at a small place on the bay, so we decided to crash it and try to score with some chicks but when we struck out we left. It wasn't until Tony started to act all weird, hallucinating and stuff and then I saw the news report about Keller and what went down after we left that party that I realized he must have sold us bad stuff, so I took Tony straight to the hospital. I'm afraid that's all I can tell you, I don't know anything else." Shawn sighed as he leaned back on the chair, tilting it back on the chair's back legs as he watched the door to the bull pen open and a tall, plain clothed officer entered, tightly holding the newspaper reporter whom he had tipped off earlier about the drugs in Keller's apartment and the possible police search.

"This is police harassment! You have no right to arrest me or take my camera away and then dragged me down here like a common lowlife criminal!" Donnelly protested loudly, "I was just doing my job! I will have your heads for this! I demand to know what the charges are!"

"Let's start with criminal trespass, assault of a police officer, as well as interfering with an official police murder investigation." Nat growled, tightly holding the reporter's arm as he steered him across the bullpen and into Mike's office.

"Your charging me with assault? You should be charging Stone, he was the one who assaulted me and destroyed my camera." Donnelly complained bitterly as Nat pushed him towards the chair in front of the desk

"Sit!" The Internal Affairs officer ordered as he slammed the door closed and turned back towards the reporter.

Quickly smothering the grin on his face with a yawn, Shawn turned his attention back to the homicide inspector and asked, "Look man, I've told you everything I know, now can I go? It's late and I'm really tired, and I really wanna get back to my best bud in the hospital. I'm the only family he has."

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Glancing up at the heart monitor, the doctor watched the erratic green line as it fluttered across the screen before he looked down at his restless patient and accepted the needle the nurse held in her hand. Injecting the medication into the IV port, Doc murmured, "Come on, don't fight us. Let the medication do its job."

"He's in V. Fib, doctor." The nurse warned softly as she glanced up at the monitor.

"Get the crush cart in here, NOW!" the doctor ordered as the patient gasped, and suddenly went still and limp, a heartbeat before the heart monitor's shrill alarm began to echo around the room.

"He's flat lined!" the nurse announced, as she quickly pulled the pillows from beneath the patient's head, before tilting his head back and reaching behind the bed, she hit the button and silenced the alarm before grabbing the Ambu bag. Positioning the mask over the patient's face, she began to gently squeeze the bag attached to the mask, silently counting each compression of the patient's chest as another nurse commenced CPR, between each squeeze as the crash cart was wheeled into the room and positioned next to the bed.

Reaching for the two resus paddles the doctor quickly squirted a small amount of gel on one before rubbing them together to even coat them as he ordered, "Let's start at 300." Placing the pads of paddles against the patient's chest, he quickly glanced around as he called "Clear." He waited a heartbeat for the nurses to step back before his thumb pressed the small blue buttons on the two paddles and the patient arced slightly off the bed as 300 volts of electricity coursed through his chest.

All eyes turned to the heart monitor above the bed and the medical staff held their breath as the small green dot jumped on the screen tracing a week heartbeat, before it fell flat and the straight green line traveled across the screen again.

"Let's give him a dose of epinephrine 1 mg and shock him again – up the hit to 350." The doctor ordered as the two nurses again commenced CPR.

Accepting the syringe of medication handed to him by the third nurse operating the defibrillator, he quickly un-sheafed the needle before plunging it directly into the patient's heart, his thumb firmly pressing the plunger as he injected the adrenaline. Removing the needle, he turned and dropped it into the small kidney dish before accepting the two paddles again and placed them against the patient's chest as he called "Clear." before shocking the young man again.

He cursed softly as he watched the small beep on the heart monitor jump before settling back immediately into a flat line. Grabbing the gel from the resus trolley, he quickly applied it to the paddles again as he watched the nurses continue with the CPR as he ordered succinctly, "Let's try 400."

He waited a moment for the defibrillator to fully charge as he placed the paddles against the patient's chest again before he called clear and pressed the discharge button, sending another jolt of electricity through the young man's chest. He held his breath as he looked at the heart monitor and his heart sunk as all he saw was a solid flat line.

"Okay people, let's call it, there's nothing more we can do." the doctor sighed as he glanced up at the large clock on the wall. Slowly replacing the paddles back onto the defibrillator, he announced softly, "Time of death - 4.27 am."


	10. Chapter 10

Looking up from the file he had been studying, Nat watched as Adrian entered the office, carrying two cups of coffee, and kicked the door the door closed behind him with his foot. "Mike gone home?" Nat asked as he accepted the coffee.

"Yeah," Adrian replied as he sat down on the edge of the desk and took a small sip of coffee before looking over the rim of the cup and adding, "But whether he actually stays there is anyone's guess. He's pretty wound up about what happened tonight."

"I can understand that. If that were you lying in that hospital bed with the same accusations dangling over your head, I doubt I would go home either. I would be chasing down every clue and looking for any scrape of evidence I could find to prove your innocence. I just hope that Mike doesn't interfere with our investigation too much. I would hate to have to bring him up on charges as well." Nat sighed tiredly.

Adrian nodded, "His statement about what happened tonight after he arrived at the scene right up to the moment he was forced to shoot his partner is consistent with the reports we have collected from all the other officers at the party and whose who were involved in the search for Keller tonight." Glancing at the open file his partner had been reading when he entered the office, he asked, "That Keller's personal file?"

"Yep," Nat answered as he pushed it across the desk for his partner to peruse as he continued, "Pretty bright kid, twenty- eight years old, orphaned at the age of four after losing his parents and a sister in a car accident, put himself through Berkeley, a year of Law before he switched across to Police Science and Criminology, came top or near the top of all his classes. I can see why Rudy snatched him up out of uniform as soon as he finished his probationary time and partnered him with Stone two years ago. With a little more experience and under Stone's guidance, he has all the makings of making a damn good cop and investigator someday."

"Maybe the pressure's getting to him?" Adrian asked as he glanced through the file before looking up at his partner before he pushed it back across the desk as he kept his finger resting on the car registered in Steve's name as he frowned. "Maybe he's decided to dabble in drugs off duty to keep up with the hard pace or maybe he's decided that cops don't make enough money for the lifestyle he's leading and decided to make a little more on the side. A '65 Porsche and a different girlfriend every week is kind of an expensive lifestyle for a cop, especially a second-year homicide inspector. He makes, what would you say, probably one- forty, one-fifty a week?"

"One forty-six, maybe a little more with all the hours Stone has him putting into the job." Nat answered, without glancing down at the file, "But I checked, Keller is frugal with his spending and his parents weren't exactly scratching for money when they were killed, Keller received a moderate inheritance when he turned twenty-one. The only big purchase he made with that money is his car, the rest of it is still sitting in the bank. He likes being independent and lives comfortably within his own means."

Taking another sip of his coffee, Adrian lowered his cup back down to his lap while he waited until his partner looked up at him, before he asked, "So what do you think, Keller and the others had the drugs unknowingly slipped into their drinks at the party, or the kid is telling the truth and Keller is dealing? Maybe Keller even decided to spike the drinks, himself, to get the party going?"

Nat slapped the file in front of him closed as he removed his reading glasses and placed them on top of the file, "What do I think? I think the kid is lying through his teeth and for some reason, whether it's for some sort of payback that we don't know about yet, or a crime of opportunity, probably to make himself feel like a big shot by setting up a cop after seeing the news reports of what went down at that party tonight, he has decided to set Keller up. Donnelly claims he was tipped off to the drugs in Keller's apartment and us checking for them by a phone call made just after you finished interviewing Talonine at the hospital. He said the caller was a young male who refused to give his name" Nat eyed his partner, seeing the doubt in the other man's eyes. "Tanner interviewed the kid about his contact with Keller and the drug deal he claims they did at Keller's apartment tonight." Picking up a second file off the desk, Nat handed it across to his partner, for Adrian to read, as he continued, "The kid could not describe Keller's living room where he claimed he had waited for Keller to go and get the drugs he was selling, yet he knew Keller had gone into his bedroom to retrieve the drugs."

"Maybe he was nervous making a drug buy at a cop's own home and didn't take much notice of what furniture was in the room." Adrian frowned as he read the statement Shawn Talonine's statement, Bill had taken earlier.

"Maybe, but then he and his friend, Hulipa, just happen to turn up at the same party where Keller and the others were attending and where the same drugs he claimed to have just bought from Keller was slipped into the several unattended drinks left sitting around by the party goers."

"Co-incidental maybe," Adrian frowned as he looked back at his partner, "But not beyond the realm of plausible possibilities. There were a lot of people at that party from a lot of different backgrounds. Quite easy that word might have gotten around about the party happening and Talonine and Halipa decided to go to try and score chicks like Talonine claims."

Nat ran his hand over his face, leaving his hand resting on his chin, a habit that Adrian knew that his partner did not quite agree with him. Adrian sighed as he placed the cup of coffee down on the desk and turned to look straight at his partner as he argued his point, "Look Nat, it's possible the kids did spike the drinks at the party but you have to agree it's also possible that Keller did sell them the drugs at his apartment earlier in the evening like Talonine is claiming. I know you're friends with Stone and you have worked with his partner but step back from that for just one minute and see that maybe, just maybe, Keller may be guilty of dealing and if he is, he is just as guilty, or even more so, for those deaths at the party tonight and overdosing the other victims. And for shooting another police officer. The media's having a field day with this and I don't think that we should be so fast with trying to mark Keller off our list of suspects. Even if he might not have spiked those drinks tonight, we need to make sure we investigate fully that he was not the dealer. And if he is, he deserves to be brought up on charges, charges that include intent to supply, selling and distribution of drugs, and if we do discover that he was the one who spiked those drinks tonight to get the party rocking, attempted murder and murder."

"You're right, until we can prove one way or the other whether Keller is a victim, or guilty of being a dealer, or instigating this whole damn mess by deciding to try and slip PMA into those drinks to get the party rocking, he stays up the very top of our suspect list." Nat sighed as the phone began to ring and he snatched it up and growled, "San Francisco Homicide, Steinner."

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Sitting in his car, Mike found himself staring at Steve's apartment. He swallowed hard, when he had left the station he had intended to go home and try and get some sleep, but he couldn't go home, not after what happened last night. He felt the guilt rise in his chest, threatening to choke him as he turned and snatched up the mic, before requesting to be patched through to Tanner. Waiting for Bill to answer the phone, he turned and stared up at the apartment again, wondering what they had missed when they searched the apartment last night. There had to be something there that would prove Steve's innocence.

He jumped in surprise as Bill's voice crackled over the radio, "Mike, it's Bill, where are you? I thought Darlington sent you home."

Turning back to stare out of the windshield at the clouds that were now tinged with red and gold as the sun made its appearance over the horizon, Mike sighed, "He tried but I'm at Steve's apartment."

Bill hesitated as he looked up and glanced quickly at the two IA officers talking together in Mike's office before he returned his attention back to the man he was speaking with on the phone. Dropping his voice to a soft whisper, he said, "Steve's apartment? I thought Steinner took you off the case."

"He did, but that doesn't mean that I can't investigate it on my own time." Mike answered honestly before he added, "I need your help, Bill, I know you interviewed the kid who brought his friend into the ER and then claimed he brought drugs the other kid had overdosed on from Steve."

"Talonine, yeah," Bill answered quietly, glancing across at Mike's office again to make sure the two IA officers were still busy before he returned his attention back to the phone call. "He's lying, Mike, I don't know why but this kid is lying through his teeth. He claims Steve is his regular dealer and has been for the last few months, that Steve even arranged drug deals with him while on duty, says the deal always goes down at a little café on Pier 33. He told me that yesterday Steve was in a hurry, said he had somewhere to go. The kid claims that Steve told him to come to his apartment to make the deal. He said after he got there, Steve went into the bedroom to get the drugs and when he came out, Steve offered him the tablets and some horse. But get this Mike, I asked him to describe Steve's living room where he claimed Steve made him wait while Steve went to get the drugs from his bedroom, and the kid couldn't. The description he gave me did not match with anything in Steve's living room. He then admitted that he and his friend, Hulipa, went to the same party as Steve."

"So Talonine could have been the one who spiked the drinks at the party." Mike frowned.

Bill nodded before he answered into the phone, "Right."

Looking up at Steve's apartment, Mike frowned as a theory began to form in his mind, "So he spikes the drinks and afterwards sees the news reports about what happened, and …"

"Got Steve's name from the TV." Bill breathed as he realized where Mike was going.

"And decided to frame Steve." Mike finished before he demanded, "Bill, I want everything you can find out about Talonine, and I want to know if there is any connection between him and Steve."

"Will do, Mike," Bill told his boss softly before he asked softly, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to check Steve's apartment, see if Charlie and the boys missed anything last night. Then, I'm headed over to the hospital. I want to have a chat to Andrew. He told me that he went to the party with Steve last night. I want to ask him about any visitors Steve might have had before they went to the party and if he saw Steve or anyone lingering near the drinks about the time the drinks were spiked before Steinner gets to have a chat with him." Mike answered as he looked down at his watch, "Let's meet at my place in about two hours."

"Your place, two hours, right." Bill murmured softly as he heard the call disconnect in his ear. 


	11. Chapter 11

Nat Stienner hung up the phone and sat staring at it for several long seconds.

"What now?" Adrian asked cautiously as he watched his partner closely.

"That was the hospital, one of the other party goers, Jordon Wakefield, died about an hour ago." Nat looked up at his partner and rubbed the back of his neck.

"That makes three dead, three critical and another officer seriously wounded trying to apprehend Keller. The press is going to have a field day with this." Adrian breathed as he watched his partner close the files before Nat stood up and grabbed his coat from the back of the chair. Frowning as he stood up and followed his partner out of the office, he asked, "Where are we going?"

"Seeing you have convinced me to leave Keller on the top of our suspect list, you're going to dig as deep as you can into his background. I want to know who his friends are, where he hangs out when he's off duty, who he dates, if there's any hidden bank or offshore accounts we don't know about yet. I want the book on him." Nat told him as they headed out of the bullpen. "Then talk to some of the Homicide inspectors and other officers who Keller works with while Stone's not around, find out just what type of officer he really is."

"Where are you going?" Adrian frowned as Nat glanced down at his watch before he suddenly veered away as they stepped out of the bullpen anteroom and headed towards the stairs.

Nat turned back to his partner, "I'm going down to the lab to see what they got anything we can use from Keller's apartment last night and then I'm heading back to Keller's apartment to talk to Mike Stone, if anyone knows Keller well, it's Stone."

"Why are you going to Keller's apartment? I sent Stone home."

The older IA officer smiled fondly at Adrian, even though they had been partners for the last two years, the younger man still had a lot to learn. "Why Keller's apartment? If you were Keller and I was Stone, then that's where I would go after being taken of the case and sent home. I would want to make extra sure that the lab boys or the officers searching your apartment hadn't missed anything that might prove your innocence," Nat paused as he momentarily stared at his partner, fully understanding Mike's desperation to prove his partner's innocence before he added honestly, "and I would be searching like crazy for anything that might lead me to the bastard who had set you up."

"You _really_ don't believe that Keller is guilty, do you?" Adrian asked in surprise. His partner's instincts were usually spot on, but this time Adrian could not help but think Nat's friendship with Stone was clouding his objectivity. The fact that Nat had chosen to ignore Stone's violent assault on the reporter and Nat's own suspicion that Stone had disobeyed his order to go home and had returned to Keller's apartment to search for any missed evidence only confirmed his fears that the friendship between the two men might get in the way of the investigation.

"No, I don't. I believe he was set up, probably by those two kids but believing and proving are two whole separate things. So, until we have enough evidence to prove Keller's guilt or innocence, he will stay at the top of our list. But my gut keeps telling me whatever did happen at that party last night, those two kids were involved…" Nat paused as he reached up and tugged at his bottom lip, staring over Adrian's shoulder into the Homicide bullpen behind him before he looked back at his partner and ordered, "Adrian, after you finish checking out Keller. I want you to meet me at the hospital."

"The hospital?" Adrian frowned.

"Yeah, the doctors said that Martin should be well enough to interview this morning," Glancing back down at his watch before he looked back up at his partner, Nat added, "And the effects of the PMA should be starting to wear off our other victims, including Keller. I want us to be there to talk to them as soon as they're awake and able to talk before anyone else has a chance to."

"You mean before Stone can talk to his partner." Adrian said softly,

"No… I mean before anyone, including Stone and that kid, Tolonine, have a chance to talk to any of the victims before we do. Now get going!" Nat snapped, annoyed by his partner's attitude as he watched Adrian turn and hurry away before he turned and headed towards the stairs.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Looking up from the slide he had been examining under the microscope, Charlie smiled as the IA officer leaned against the metal bench and asked, "Blood, tissue or a very, very small photo of a naked woman again?"

"None of the above." Charlie grinned, used to the other man's teasing, as he stepped aside and allowed Nat to peer into the microscope. "Just dirt and grass seeds taken from the scene of the O'Rielly case, the boys upstairs put a rush on it."

Straightening up, Nat nodded, "Don't blame them, from what I heard that's a nasty case. They need to get the bastard who attacked her off the streets and fast."

Charlie nodded his agreement, from the little about the case he had overheard the inspectors discussing, they suspected this wasn't the first time the attacker had struck and probably wouldn't be the last time unless they caught him fast. After scribbling some of his findings into the open file that was next to the microscope, Charlie looked up at Nat, "Now I know you aren't here to see my handsome face or just to try and take a peek at my microscopic collection of naked women, so I am guessing you are here about the Keller case."

"Yeah," Nat nodded as he turned and leaned back against the bench and crossed his arms, "Have you got anything for me, Charlie?"

"Not much I'm afraid," the forensic scientist shrugged, "lots of fingerprints in the apartment that we are still trying to check out but Keller's young, and from what I have heard likes to play the field, a different girl every week, so I suspect most of the fingerprints will be girls he has brought back to his apartment." Nat sighed and opened his mouth to speak as Charlie quickly raised his hand to stop the IA officer from commenting as he continued, "But I did find some partial, smudged fingerprints not only on the bed side table where the drugs were found but also on the bag of heroin that we found in the drawer. Too smudged to be able to identify who it belongs to but not smudged enough that I couldn't rule out they weren't Keller's fingerprints."

"So, someone else handled the drugs?"

Charlie nodded as he reached across the bench and grabbed a small file containing his preliminary findings, "I also found evidence that Keller's apartment had been broken into recently. There were fresh small scratches around the lock consistent with someone jimmying it."

"Fresh as in last night?" Nat asked hopefully.

The forensic scientist shrugged, noncommittally, "Fresh as in the last couple of days, there was no oxidization in the scratches."

"Anything else?" Nat asked, accepting the file and began to read its contents.

"The tests on the tablets that were found in Keller's apartment confirm they were from the same batch of drugs that were slipped into the drinks at the party."

"No surprise there." Nat sighed distractedly as he perused the chemical analysis of the drugs in the file.

"No, but Bernie sent me across some blood to test from an overdose victim he is autopsying that I think you might be interested in."

Nat's head snapped up and he looked at Charlie as he asked, "Let me guess, same drugs in their system?"

Charlie nodded, "Same batch of PMA right down to the weed killer to stretch it further. I have already warned Bernie that you might want to get some details off him about the victim."

"I certainly do, thanks Charlie." Nat smiled as he closed the file and quickly handed it back to Charlie before he slapped the scientist on the back and headed towards the door. "If you find anything else…"

"If I find anything else, you will be the first to know." Charlie called after him as Nat hurried out of the lab. "I know the drill!" he muttered as the door slammed closed and he turned back to the bench.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Turning away from the autopsy table as his assistant prepared the body to be returned to the freezer, Bernie tugged of his mask and gloves, dropping them into the small trash bin before he grabbed the clipboard and scribbled his name at the bottom of the page. Walking across to the small desk near the wall, he tossed the clipboard down, deciding that he desperately needed a cup of coffee before writing up his report for the guys upstairs. Shrugging out of his once pristine white autopsy gown, he rolled it up into a ball before turning to toss it into the open laundry bag. “Jesus, Nat, do you have to sneak up on me like that!” He gasped in surprise as he found himself standing almost toe to toe with the IA officer who had suddenly appeared behind him. “I swear one of these days you’re going to give me a God damned heart attack!”

Nat chuckled as the coroner tossed the blood stained gown into the laundry bag, “You’re gunna outlive all of us, Bernie, especially on that diet of that bad coffee you make and that greasy fast food that you survive on.”

“And just what’s wrong with my coffee?” Bernie growled.

“Nothing,” Nat grinned, “Especially if you need some old tar to seal a couple of potholes.”

“Humph!” Bernie growled, smothering a grin, “ Well if you’re not here for a cup of my delectable coffee, then I guess you have already spoken to Charlie and he told you about our overdose victim that I autopsied earlier this morning.”

“Yeah,” Nat nodded, “Charlie said the vic died from the same batch of PMA right mixed with weed killer that was used to lace the drinks at the party last night.”

“That’s right.” Bernie confirmed as he brushed past the IA officer and headed across to the freezer drawers that lined the opposite wall before selecting the one he was looking for and opening as Nat reluctantly joined him.

Forcing himself not to react as Bernie pulled out the drawer, Nat studied the white face of the young man on the cold metal slap after Bernie lifted back the sheet, as he tried hard to ignore the neat stitches that encircled the victim’s head.

“Our young guest has already been identified as William Shelling.” Bernie began, “He was brought in about ten PM last night after being found by friends in his bedroom, dead from an apparent overdose, which Charlie was able to confirm for me earlier this morning.”

“Time of death?” Nat asked.

“Between four and five yesterday afternoon.”

“So, he was already dead before the party started.” Nat mused.

“And there was no alcohol in his system.” Bernie added.

Nat nodded. “Anything else?”

“No, that’s it, I was just about to send my finding up to the guys upstairs.” Bernie sighed as he studied the young face that stared sightlessly back up at him, “You know once kids used to get their thrills from souping up their hot rods, listening to rock and roll and going to the drive-in. Now it seems all that many of them to want to do is escape from reality, ‘tune in, turn on and drop out’ in an attempt to find a place they call Utopia, and they seem to believe the way to find it is through the use of drugs and these new hippy communes. Especially after today, when I have three more bodies, just like him to autopsy, and I know there are three others, one of them a cop and close friend in the hospital, all suffering from overdosing on the same drugs.” Slowly recovering the young man’s face with the sheet again, Bernie slid the tray back into the freezer drawer and closed the door before he turned back to look at Nat again and asked, “Sometimes I wonder, have we have really made that big of a mess of the world that our kids no longer want to live in it?”

“I really don’t know, Bernie,” Nat sighed, “But I hope not.”

“You don’t really think that young Keller was actually involved in selling this junk, or spiking those drinks last night, do you, Nat?” Bernie asked, “I mean, we both know the kid, and we both know there’s no way he would ever be involved in drugs, either taking or selling them!”

“No, I don’t but knowing it with my gut and proving it are two whole different things.” Nat admitted softly.

The coroner nodded, “If anyone can clear Steve, it’s Mike and you.”

“I hope so,” Nat murmured, unconvinced as he turned and headed towards the door, his stomach churning at the smell of blood, disinfectant and other odors that he had no wish to even try and identify.

“I should be finished with the autopsies of the three victims from the party after lunch, I’ll send my findings straight up to you when I have finished. I gather that you’re in charge of the case?” Bernie asked as he walked with the IA officer to the door.

“Yeah, we are.” Nat nodded as they reached the door and he opened it, pausing as he turned back to glance back at the wall lined with freezer doors, aware that three of them held his victims before he glanced back at the coroner, “And also send me a copy of your report on the kid as well. Just leave them on my desk, I’ll read them when I get back.”

“Will do.” Bernie agreed as Nat walked out of Autopsy and headed down the corridor, giving a quick wave of his hand to acknowledge Bernie’s answer, his mind already focused on the conversation he needed to have with Mike and he knew just where Mike would be.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

"We turned the place upside down, Mike, looking for evidence. I don't think you are going to find that we missed anything." Nat said softly from the open apartment door as he watched Mike emerge from Keller's bedroom. Mike jumped and looked towards the I.A. officer as Nat walked slowly into Steve's living room and looked around at the mess that had been left behind by the search and the collection of evidence. The search had been thorough, everything had been pulled apart, pulled open, or checked behind, in or under, nothing had been left unsearched, but the only evidence found had been the drugs in Keller's bedroom. "But I don't blame you for double checking. If it were my partner, I would be tearing this place apart to see if I could find something that was missed that might prove his innocence."

"Steve is innocent, Nat," Mike answered firmly as Nat walked across to join him, "he's being framed."

Nat nodded slowly, "I have to agree, we found evidence that Keller's door was recently jimmied and the prints on one of the bags of heroin were smudged but not smudged enough for Charlie to be unable to confirm that the prints did not belong to Keller. But we both know that is not enough to prove Keller's innocence, any good lawyer could argue that the door being jimmied has nothing to do with what happened last night and the prints on the heroin bag could be the fingerprints of Keller's supplier, that Keller is a cop and would know to wear gloves when handling the merchandise."

"It's a start." Mike argued.

Nat sighed, "Mike, Keller's a cop and cops don't get the luxury of being presumed innocent until proven guilty, cops are guilty before they are proved innocent by the media and the public. And the media is all over this like a rash. We have three dead, three critical and a cop shot by your partner who was as high as a kite after someone slipped drugs into drinks at a party, a party where SFPD officers were attending. Add to that, the large quantity of the same drugs that were slipped in the drinks were found in Keller's apartment, along with bags of heroin, and photos of that Donnelly took last night will probably be the lead story on all the local news stations and the newspapers this evening as well." Running a hand over his face, Nat sighed as he glanced around the room again as he admitted softly, "I was only to convince the DA to get a judge to place a twelve-hour injunction against any media outlets using the photos."

"God!" Mike murmured, aware once those photos were made public, the chances of saving Steve's career and reputation would be impossible, even if they could prove Steve's innocence.

"And don't forget the witness who is willing to get up in court and swear that Keller is his dealer, and that he had purchased drugs off Keller in this very apartment hours before the drinks were spiked." Nat continued before he asked, "Listen Mike, I have to ask, is there any chance in hell that Steve could be guilty? Is it possible that he is dealing drugs or even dappling recreationally with drugs? Maybe he's dealing with some financial difficulties that we are not aware of?"

"No, no way, Nat. Steve might not be rolling in money, he is definitely not drowning in debt," Mike snapped without any hesitation. "There's no way he would ever be involved in taking or dealing drugs, especially not dealing drugs out of his own apartment!" Mike's frustration, anger and fear boiled over as he spun around to face the man standing beside him as he growled, "Hell Nat, if Steve was dappling with drugs, don't you think I would have noticed? He's my partner, I am with him almost sixteen hours a day, most days!"

"Easy, Mike," Nat said softly, as he placed his hand on the upset lieutenant's shoulder, "I had to ask."

Mike drew a deep breath to reign in his emotions as he reluctantly nodded, aware that he was not helping Steve by losing his temper.

Picking up one of the sofa cushions that was lying on the floor where it had been dropped during the search, Nat glanced back at Mike as he casually asked, "Do you know if Steve knows a young man named William Shelling? Maybe they hang out together?'

Mike shook his head as he watched Nat place the cushion back onto the sofa as he frowned and answered cautiously, "Steve's never mentioned him. Why?"

Nat shrugged non-committedly, "Just a name that has come up in our investigation, he might not even have anything to do with what happened last night." Glancing down at his watch, Nat sighed, "I have to go, I have a couple of interviews to do before I report to the chief and the DA about what happened last night and update them about our investigations so far." Looking back up at Mike, he reminded him firmly, "Look Mike, I know you want to help prove Keller's innocence but the best thing you can do for your partner is stay as far away from Keller and this case as you can until we have finished our investigations. I'm asking you, Mike, please just let me do my job."

Turning, he walked out of the apartment, praying that Mike would heed his advice, if not for Keller's sake, than for his own.


	12. Chapter 12

Clutching his shoulder as he sat up a little higher in the bed, Andrew eased himself back against the pillows as he looked at the two IA officers and frowned, "I'm not sure if there is anything else I can tell you about what happened last night then what you have been told already. It was every cop's worst nightmare. One minute everyone was enjoying the party, and just having fun and the next…" Andrew shuddered, grimacing as the small, involuntary movement reignited the pain his shoulder, sending white hot sparks of pain that blossomed out from the newly repaired bullet hole in his shoulder across his chest and down his arm. Swallowing hard, he looked up at the two silent men as he forced himself to continue, "And the next minute, people began hallucinating and collapsing around me and Steve was wandering around in the dark, drugged and armed with a gun." He slowly shook his head as he looked down at the light sheet that covered his legs before he slowly looked back up at Nat and Adrian and asked, "How many?"

"I beg your pardon?" Adrian asked, glancing across at his partner in confusion before looking back at the injured officer in the hospital bed.

"Three dead, two still on the critical list, one upgraded this morning to serious but stable, and you." Nat answered softly.

"God," Andrew whispered as he looked down again and shook his head, "All because some damn idiot thought it would be funny to spike some drinks at a party with some Dr. Death." Taking a deep breath, Andrew forced himself to look back up at Nat, "Who did we lose?"

"Keller's girlfriend, Julie Howard, Officer Wakefield and another party guest, Leon Hodginson." Nat answered quietly, "Keller and a kid, Tony Hulipa, are in the ICU and still listed as critical, and another party guest, Alex Miller's condition, thankfully, has just been downgraded to serious but stable."

Andrew could only shake his head as Nat told him the names of the friends who had lost their lives and the condition of his two surviving friends as he murmured "God" again.

"Andrew, we need to know your version of events about what happened last night." Nat told the injured officer, "so let's start from the beginning."

"Okay." Andrew agreed.

"So, we understand that you went to the party with Steve Keller."

"That's right."

"So, did he pick you up or did you pick him up at his apartment."

Andrew frowned at the question, "Both," he answered before quickly explaining, "Steve was running late finishing up writing a report, so I went home and got changed before I came back and met up with him at the homicide bullpen. We decided we would get to the party quicker if I simply left my car at the station and we went straight back to Steve's place so he could get changed and leave for the party from there."

"So, the two of you went back to Keller's place, together?" Adrian asked as he looked at his partner before returning his attention back to the injured man in the bed before asking, "How long were you there?"

"Maybe fifteen, twenty minutes, I guess. Just long enough for Steve to grab a quick shower and change." Andrew answered Adrian's question before he looked back at Nat and continued, "We were running late, and we knew the girls would be waiting for us at the party."

"The girls? Julie Howard and Sally Graham?"

Andrew nodded as he felt a stab of grief lance his heart at the mention of Julie's name, "Yeah," he answered softly.

Nat nodded silently, allowing the officer a couple of minutes to regain his composure before he asked, "Did anyone turn up at Keller's apartment wanting to speak to him privately before you left for the party?"

"No." Andrew replied.

"Are you sure?" Adrian interrupted, gruffly.

"Positive," Andrew frowned.

"Maybe you were in the bathroom when they came," Adrian pushed, "or maybe Keller met them outside his apartment, so you wouldn't see them."

"No, I told you, no one came to the apartment when I was there with Steve last night." Andrew snapped at Adrian before he turned to Nat and demanded, "What's this all about?"

"Just checking up about some information we were given," Nat answered evasively before he continued with the interview, "Okay, so you and Keller left his apartment about what time – seven?" Andrew nodded silently as Nat continued, "And you travelled together in Keller's car to the party and got there about when - seven-thirty?"

Andrew nodded again.

"And the two girls were already at the party and waiting for you."

"Yeah."

"Then what happened?" Adrian demanded brusquely, not even looking at Andrew as he jotted everything Andrew said down in his notebook.

Andrew shrugged and grimaced as he grabbed his shoulder again, "We went inside, had a couple of drinks and began to dance with the girls before all hell broke out."

"What did you do with your drinks when you went to dance?" Nat asked.

"We placed them down on the table."

"Did you all go to dance at the same time or did Keller linger behind for a few minutes?" Adrian asked, the pen he held poised in the air above his notebook as he looked at Andrew waiting expectantly for an answer.

Andrew froze for a moment as he realized the insinuations of the question, snapping his attention back to the younger IA officer, Andrew growled, "Now hold it a minute, if you are trying to accuse Steve of being responsible for slipping the PMA into the drinks, you're crazy…"

"Easy, Andrew, easy, we are just trying wo work out where everyone was and what they were doing." Nat tried to soothe the upset man. "We just want to know just what happened at that party last night, you know we have to ask these questions, especially after what went down. We not accusing Keller of doing anything wrong, are we, Adrian?"

"We just want to get to the truth." Adrian agreed with his partner reluctantly.

"Okay, then what happened?" Nat asked, redirecting the questions.

"We danced for a while before returning to our drinks and a few minutes later, Steve began to complain of feeling hot and headed towards the door. I went to follow him to make sure he was alright when suddenly all Hell broke out. People began hallucinating and collapsing. I told some of the guys to call for ambulances and to let SFPD and Mike Stone know what was happening. By the time I made it outside to check on Steve, he was gone, and Tommy Wellings told me he had pulled a gun on him and appeared to be hallucinating." Andrew stared at a spot on the wall somewhere behind Nat's shoulder as he relived the nightmare he had found himself plunged into the night before as he swallowed hard and continued "After Mike got there, he began to search for Steve while I stayed behind at the house and began to take witness statements."

"Then how did you get shot by Keller?" Adrian frowned as he lowered his notebook and looked at Andrew.

"I received a radio call from one of the officers who had escorted the victims to the hospital to warn me the doctors had discovered PMA in the drug screen tests that were taken on the victims' admissions to the hospital, so I went to warn Mike and tell him a doctor was on the way to treat Steve for a possible PMA overdose." Andrew explained quietly, "After I caught up with Mike, we located Steve, he was hallucinating. Mike was trying to talk him down and had almost succeeded, but I guess I moved a little too quickly towards Steve and he panicked." Shaking his head, Andrew looked back at Nat as he said softly, "Steve shooting me was more my fault than his, he was hallucinating and didn’t know who I was or what I was going to do and he panicked. I should have taken things more slowly."

Nat nodded as he patted Andrew's sheet covered leg, "It was a difficult situation for everyone." He tried to reassure the SFPD sergeant. "Get some rest, if we have any more questions, we will be back later."

Andrew sighed and nodded as he watched the two IA officers turn and start to leave the room.

Suddenly Nat stopped and turned back to Andrew, frowning as he asked, "You didn't happen to notice two young men at the party, one a small skinny kid, about 19 maybe 20 ... 5'6 to 5'7, possibly wearing dark jeans and a red shirt and the other about the same age, blond hair, a little taller and heavier."

Andrew slowly shook his head before he stopped and his eyes lit up, "No, I didn't, but one of the girls I spoke to noticed two kids hanging around who match the description but they were gone when we started to get everyone's names and statements. I told one of the guys to get an APB out on them because I knew Mike would want to talk with them later but with all the confusion, I don't know if the APB was issued." Andrew paused before he asked quietly, "Do you think they could be the ones responsible for spiking the drinks?"

Nat shrugged, "We don't know yet, just chasing down a possible lead." Turning back towards the door, Nat left the room with Adrian close behind him.

"Well what do you think?" Nat asked his partner quietly as they headed towards the elevator.

"I'm starting to think that maybe you are right, and Keller could be getting made into the scapegoat." Adrian answered reluctantly.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Looking up at the heart monitor, the doctor watched the green blip as it danced across the screen before he returned his attention back to the nurse and asked, "How is his temperature and BP?"

"Temps dropped to 101.5 and his BP is stabilizing." The nurse answered, looking up from the drip she was adjusting as she added, "His urine output is still low."

"Okay, let's get some more blood work done and see just how well his kidneys and liver are coping and how much PMA and Glyphosate is still in his system."

The nurse nodded as she straightened up and pulled her notebook from her pocket and jotted down a note to call the lab girls back up to the unit to draw more blood from the patient.

The doctor leaned over his unconscious patient and peeled back the tape and carefully lifted the dressing covering the neatly stitched wound beneath. Studying the wound briefly, he nodded satisfied as he lowered the dressing back into place before he gently pressed back down the tape and looked back up at the nurse, softly ordering, "Also let's start allowing him to him wake up a little so we can assess his mental state."

The nurse nodded again as she quickly added his orders into the notebook before she turned and started to follow the doctor from the room, "Anything else?"

The doctor paused and turned back to stare at the man in the bed. "Might be an idea to restrain him to the bed, for his safety as well as our own, just in case he is still suffering vivid hallucinations when he wakes up."

"Just wrist restraints?"

Rubbing his chin as he remembered how agitated the young Homicide inspector had become in the ER when he was brought in, the doctor slowly shook his head as he turned and walked out of the room, ordering over his shoulder, "No, put him in five point restraints- wrists, ankles and waist. Better to be safe than sorry."

"Will do." The nurse murmured as she turned and followed the doctor out of the door. While the doctor crossed to the nurse's station to update his patient's file with his latest orders, she turned and headed to equipment room to gather all the necessary equipment that she needed to use to restrain her patient.


	13. Chapter 13

"What do you mean I can't go in and see him?" Shawn demanded angrily as he took a threatening step closer to the nurse, "I'm the one who saved his life last night by bringing him into the hospital when I did after he took some of those tainted drugs sold to us by that cop!"

"I'm sorry Sir, but I am under strict orders that no one is allowed to visit him until he has been interviewed by the police, and only then if the doctor says so." the nurse repeated firmly, refusing to be intimidated by the young man as she continued softly, "But I am sure if you return later this afternoon…"

"I don't want to return later this afternoon! I want to see him now!" Shawn insisted loudly, running his hand through his hair nervously as he glanced across at Tony's ICU room before he returned his attention back to the nurse. Taking a deep breath, he lowered his voice as he pleaded, "Look, Tony's my best friend, and he's the only family I have. I was so scared that I was going to lose him last night. I'm…I'm scared that I still might…" Seeing the look of sympathy flitter across the nurse's face, he swallowed hard and grabbed the nurse's arm as he began to beg, with just the right hint of desperation in his voice, "Please, all I am asking is to be able to see him for a minute, just one minute. I promise I won't tell anyone or disturb him if he's asleep. I just want to see him to make sure for myself that he's really going to be alright…"

"I really wish you could, but the answer is still no." the nurse answered as her heart went out to the worried young man standing in front of her.

"Please…" Shawn begged.

"No," the nurse answered more firmly before she added gently, 'but if you come back this afternoon, I am sure that you can see him for a couple of minutes then."

Shawn sighed as he realized she was not going to cave under his threats or pleading and released his hold on her arm, "Okay, you win, I'll come back later but if he wakes up and asks for me, please tell him, I tried to keep my promise to stay with him."

"I will." The nurse promised as she lightly touched his arm, "Look, I will talk to the doctor about letting you stay with him after he is allowed to have visitors, I promise."

"Thank you." Shawn muttered before he turned and headed towards the ICU doors as the nurse walked away.

Pausing outside the ICU door, Shawn turned and stared through the door's glass window as he began to tug nervously on his bottom lip. The cop who questioned him at the police station earlier had made it more than obvious that he believed he was lying about buying the drugs from the cop and now the cops were not going to let him near Tony until after they questioned him. He had to get to Tony fast and make sure that Tony understood that he needed to stick to their story that the cop, Keller, was their dealer and had sold them some of the tainted drugs before the party... or else!

He froze for a moment as he watched the nurse disappeared into one of the other patients' room, leaving both the corridor outside Tony's room and the nurse's desk empty. Now was his chance! Pushing the door open, he quickly re-entered the ICU and hurried down the corridor to Tony's room. Glancing around to ensure that no one had seen him, he quickly slipped into Tony's room and closed the door firmly behind him.

SOSF SOSF SOSF

Standing outside his front door, Mike sighed heavily as he inserted his key into the lock and turned it. Nat had been right, the IA and lab boys had combed through Steve’s apartment with a fine-tooth comb, by the look of the mess they had left behind, there had been nothing left not searched, checked or fingerprinted. His own thorough search had found nothing to indicate that Steve sold or even dabbled in drugs… but he had not found anything to help prove Steve’s innocence either. Pushing open the door, he froze where he stood as he saw Jeanie standing just inside the doorway, her hands on her hips as she waited for him to enter the house. "Jeannie, what are you doing here? Why aren't you at school?" He asked softly as he reluctantly stepped through the doorway, already knowing her answer by the furious look on her face.

“Roy called me and told me about what happened last night!” she snapped angrily.

“He shouldn’t have!” Mike growled tiredly as he hung up his hat and shrugged out of his coat, hanging it on the coatrack next to the door.

“No, you’re right! He shouldn’t have, Mike! Because you should have!” Jeannie snapped again as Mike turned back towards her, her anger, hurt and fear evident in her voice as she added softly, “You should have been the one who told me about what happened at that party last night, about Steve’s drink being spiked!” Her voice hitched as she struggled not to cry as she looked accusingly across the small gab between herself and her father as she continued, “It should have been you who told me about how you had to shoot Steve after he shot another officer while he was high, to stop him from shooting anyone else, not Roy!”

“I know…” Mike admitted guiltily as he quickly stepped across and wrapped his arms around Jeannie, pulling her into a tight hug before lightly kissing her on the top of her head, regretting trying to protect her from everything that had happened.


	14. Chapter 14

Stepping into the elevator, Adrian turned and looked at his partner as Nat stepped into the elevator beside him, “Now what?”

Hitting the button that would take them down to the floor below, Nat watched as the elevator doors slid closed and waited until he felt the elevator jerk slightly and begin its decent before he answered, “Lets go have a little chat with Alex Miller while we are waiting for the docs to tell us that we can interview Keller and Hulipa and see if he can add anything to what Andrew just told us about what went down at that party last night.”

Adrian turned and stared at his partner, suspiciously, as the elevator came to a creaking stop and the doors began to slide open, “Are you hoping that maybe he saw Hulipa and Talonine at the party last night.”

Nat nodded as they stepped out of the elevator and headed towards the nurse’s desk, “We know that Hulipa and Talonine were at the party last night, let’s see if Miller saw them there annoying the girls like Talonine claims or if he noticed them up to something else.”

Adrian stopped and turned towards his partner, “You _really_ do think that the two boys are behind this mess, don’t you?”

Nat nodded, “You just said it yourself, you think Keller could be getting made into the scapegoat.”

“Yeah, I think he is but…” Adrian began.

“But?” Nat asked.

“If it was the boys, then why did Hulipa take the risk of taking a dose of the tainted PMA himself?”

“Maybe he didn’t know it was tainted…maybe he didn’t realize just how lethal the drug was…” Nat answered before adding, “Or maybe they thought that if one of them was admitted to the hospital suffering from the effects of the drug after being to the same party -”

“That they would create themselves a bit of an alibi.” Adrian breathed.

“An alibi where they decided to also hand us a cop’s head on a platter after seeing the news report about Keller’s shooting.” Nat added quietly, again voicing the theory he had first come up with after reading Talonine’s statement and after discovering Keller’s apartment had been broken into.

“To make sure they shifted the blame from themselves onto Keller.”

“By becoming the victims and not the perpetrators,” Nat smiled, pleased that his partner was now finally beginning to warm up to his theory.

Adrian nodded as they began walking again towards the nurse’s station as he murmured, “But as you said suspecting what happened is one thing but proving what happened is whole other ball game.”

“Especially when it comes to clearing an innocent cop’s name not only in the department but also out there in the media.” Nat sighed softly, “But if Keller is just an innocent victim like the other victims in this whole goddamn mess, then that’s just what we are going to have to do beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

“What about Stone?” Adrian asked as he stopped walking again, grabbing his partner’s arm as he turned back to face him.

“What about Stone?” Nat frowned.

“You know even after you ordered him, not once but twice, to keep away from this mess, that he’s not going to stop trying to clear his partner’s name.”

“That’s what I’m counting on!” Nat smiled, chuckling as he saw the confused look flitter across his partner’s face before growing serious and adding, “Look, we both know that sometimes a cop’s covert investigation to try and clear a partner’s name often turns up leads and evidence that we have missed. To be honest, I’m more worried about Donnelly and his eagerness to get what he believes is his scoop of the century. The media is eagerly willing to not only to be judge and jury in the court of public opinion and with those photos Donnelly took at the scene of Keller high on drugs shooting a fellow officer before being taken down by his own partner, the media have already found Keller guilty because it makes good ratings.” Nat sighed as he turned and looked at the nurse’s desk, shaking his head in frustration as he murmured softly, “You know, even if our theory is right and we can prove Keller’s innocence, there’s a big chance his career is over anyway.”

Adrian swallowed hard as he followed his partner across to the nurse’s desk as he agreed softly, “I know.”


	15. Chapter 15

Sitting in front of the chief editor’s desk, Donnelly’s leg bounced up and down in nervous excitement as he watched the editor fan the array of photos across the desk before pausing to pick up Donnelly’s two favorite photos, the first one a wild eyed and drugged out Keller, surrounded by armed police officers including his partner, aiming his gun at a fellow officer in the moments before he was shot and the second photo he had taken after bursting into the emergency room where Keller had been taken after his arrival to the hospital. The photo of Keller, still bleeding from the bullet his partner had put in his chest, totally out of control, hitting and kicking out at the medical staff, trying to escape, as they struggled to hold him down while trying to sedate him. It was a photo he knew crossed the line, but it was also the type of photo that the readers craved, especially when it was a police office.

Placing the photo back down on his desk, Leo Prevington peered over the top of his thin steel rimmed half-moon glasses at the nervous weasel of a man sitting opposite him. “You know that the DA has slapped a twelve-hour injunction on anyone publishing any photos.”

Donnelly head bobbed up and down on his shoulders, “Yeah, that’s because they know I took these exclusive photos.”

Prevington nodded as his eyes dropped back down to the photos, picking out the three that had already been splashed all over the late evening news, “Yeah, exclusive photos,” he sneered as he picked the photos up and tossed them one by one across the desk so the landed just in front of the free-lance reporter. “That’s why these are already on every news channel and I bet once the twelve-hour injunction lifts will be front page on every San Francisco newspaper this afternoon.”

Donnelly smiled smugly, “Yeah they will but they won’t have the photos of Keller taken in the ER.” Opening the manila folder, he had resting on his lap, his smile grew, “Or this!” he announced proudly, picking up his most prized possession and handing the photo across to the editor. He held his breath as the editor accepted the photo and stared at the photo he had taken in Keller’s apartment that captured the precise moment when the two IA agents had discovered the drugs, laying on top and in the drawer of the bedside table. The shocked look on Stone’s face spoke volumes.

After staring for several minutes at the photo, Prevington slowly looked back up at Donnelly as he asked softly, “Is this photo of what I think it is of?”

“Yeah,” Donnelly chuckled, “It’s the precise moment they found the drugs in Keller’s apartment. Like I said, an exclusive photo, a photo that no one else has … yet.”

“How?” The editor asked as he looked back at the photo, he held in his hands, before he looked back up at Donnelly in amazement.

Donnelly grinned. “I have my sources.”

Prevington nodded as he looked down at the other photos before looking back at the one in his hand. “How much?” he asked, eager to get the exclusive rights to the photos of a cop gone bad. “One thousand?”

Donnelly smiled and silently shock his head.

“Fifteen hundred?”

Donnelly continued to smile as he silently shook his head again.

The editor frowned, “Than what?”

“You want an exclusive and as you see by my photos, I’m the one with the sources and the only one who can give it to you.” Donnelly grinned as he leaned forward and said softly. “But I don’t want your money. I’m tired of freelancing and having to beg for big shot editors like you to throw me a few, miserable crumbs for my stuff. I want to have the respect for my work that I have earned and that I deserve. So, let’s make a deal, you want an exclusive story plus photos of the downfall of a drug dealing cop who is responsible for the death of at least three people and attempted murder of a fellow cop and I want to finally get the recognition of being a front-page reporter-”

“So?”

Leaning back in his chair, Donnelly’s smile grew, “So have we got a deal?”

Prevington looked back down at the photo in his hand that he wanted on the front page of this evening’s paper more than anything else in the world before he looked back at the smug little man sitting opposite him. “Ok, Donnelly, we have a deal.”


End file.
